Young PhD makes breakthrough in flood prediction.

TP - At the age of 34, Dr. Tran Ngoc Vinh (researcher at the University of Michigan, USA) is the lead author of a research project that created a breakthrough in flood forecasting by combining artificial intelligence (AI) with physical models, achieving six times higher accuracy, and has been tested across the United States.

Turning point

Dr. Tran Ngoc Vinh's success stems from his courageous decision to leave his comfort zone and the intense experiences he faced during his years of studying and working in South Korea and the United States. His journey, from his early days studying Physics and Mathematics in Vietnam, through South Korea, to the United States, is a story of willpower to overcome limitations and a burning desire to find solutions to protect communities from natural disasters.

After graduating from the University of Science (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), Vinh began his career as a researcher at his alma mater. However, the decision to go to South Korea as a graduate student was a major turning point. “The cultural and linguistic differences made me feel insecure, and at times I doubted whether I had the ability to continue my studies. But that was the most important turning point in my career. Away from my family, I had to stand on my own two feet: setting my own goals, creating my own plans, and striving to achieve them,” Dr. Vinh shared.

Tran Ngoc Vinh presented on the phenomenon of urban flooding at the University of Michigan, USA.

Looking back on his nearly five years as a graduate student at Ulsan University in South Korea, he realizes that the pressure he put on himself was even greater than the demands of his supervising professors. “There was a period when my life was almost unbalanced: during my graduate studies, I often worked more than 15 hours a day, many nights staying up until 6 or 7 in the morning before going to sleep. But it was precisely that harsh period that helped me realize my true passion and the path I wanted to pursue, laying the foundation for the groundbreaking work I would do later,” he recalls.

Dr. Vinh's original major was Earth science, specifically meteorology and hydrology. During his undergraduate studies at the University of Natural Sciences, he was fortunate to participate in many research projects with his professors and go on field trips throughout Vietnam, especially in Central Vietnam, focusing on flooding. These field trips to the central provinces, witnessing firsthand the devastating floods that swept away lives, property, and material possessions, left a deep impression on him. “Throughout my work, I have always pondered two questions: Is it possible to predict natural disasters? And what can we do to minimize the damage caused by floods?” he said.