29-year-old PhD graduated from world's top 7 university and returned to Vietnam to work

GD&TĐ - Graduating with a PhD in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology (USA), Can Tran Thanh Trung chose to work at Ho Chi Minh City National University.

Dr. Can Tran Thanh Trung. (Photo: VNUHCM)

Dr. Can Tran Thanh Trung was born in 1995, he is a former excellent student of the Gifted High School (Ho Chi Minh City National University). Dr. Trung was the winner of the Gold Medal at the International Math Olympiad in Colombia in 2013. After that, he received a full scholarship at Duke University (USA). In 2018, Dr. Trung graduated as valedictorian in Mathematics. In 2024, he successfully defended his doctoral thesis in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology and decided to return to Vietnam to teach. He was recruited under the project to attract, retain and develop 350 outstanding young scientists and leading scientists of Ho Chi Minh City National University.

Dr. Can Tran Thanh Trung and his mother at the graduation ceremony in the US. (Photo: NVCC).

"Command from the heart"

Sharing about his decision to return to work in Vietnam, Dr. Trung said that the decision to return to work in Vietnam was a decision from the heart and has great significance in life. At the same time, since he was a student in the US, he has cherished the ambition to return to Vietnam to contribute and develop his career. The field he is passionate about is "Mathematics and applications", which currently has great development potential in Vietnam. Mathematical calculations and theories are the foundation for recent technological breakthroughs such as AI or blockchain. "Our country is a land with a tradition of loving Mathematics and many talents. Good seeds, if properly trained in both professional and soft skills, and oriented to develop in accordance with their abilities and job opportunities, will certainly bear sweet fruit," Dr. Trung shared. In addition, returning to the country and changing the working environment is a great opportunity for Mr. Trung to further his knowledge and improve his soft skills. “Because of the influence of doing Math, I really like to learn how things work, connect them together to solve problems and achieve the ultimate goal,” he said, adding that this is also an opportunity for him to be closer to his family, enjoy delicious food and drink Vietnamese coffee every day.

Passion for teaching since student days

As a student, Dr. Can Tran Thanh Trung was passionate about training and instructing students. He realized that Vietnamese students have a lot of potential, not inferior to students studying in the US. However, when he talked with professors abroad, Dr. Trung realized that Vietnamese students studying mathematics in the country were not highly appreciated. Therefore, in 2015, Dr. Thanh Trung and his friends studying at the University of Natural Sciences (Ho Chi Minh National University) opened the PiMa summer camp, aiming to introduce modern applied mathematics at university to high school students and practice other soft skills such as teamwork, research, and programming. To date, many PiMA campers have been successful and are currently working for leading technology companies and are graduate students at major universities around the world .

Dr. Thanh Trung (right cover) and the first group of students he guided at PiMA, who are currently pursuing postgraduate studies in the US, France and Japan. (Photo: VNUHCM)

Part of the decision to return to work in Vietnam, Dr. Trung brought with him a long-cherished plan - to develop PiMA into a center for training, research in mathematics and quality applications of the University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City), contributing to the university's student training career in particular and the country's education and training career in general. The young doctor hopes that after accessing new knowledge from the world, he will return to Vietnam to train generations of students so that in the near future, our country will have more young experts and mathematical researchers. This is the strategic vision of a young scientist who loves his homeland and wants to stick with and serve the best for the country with his talent and dedication.

The California Institute of Technology, USA is the world's leading science and engineering education and research institution. According to the 2024 THE Rankings, the Institute is currently ranked 7th among the best universities in the world. The Institute's alumni and faculty have been awarded 39 Nobel Prizes, 1 Fields Medal, 6 Turing Awards.

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Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/tien-si-29-tuoi-tot-nghiep-dai-hoc-top-7-the-gioi-ve-viet-nam-lam-viec-post693302.html