Two female Vietnamese university professors will receive the 2021 Kovalevskaya Award
in recognition of their outstanding research achievements and great contribution to national development, the award committee has announced.
According to the organizing committee, the ceremony to award the 2021 Kovalevskaia Prize is scheduled to be held on the occasion of Vietnam Science and Technology Day (this May) in Hanoi.
The awardees are Professor and Doctor Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, vice president of the University of Science under the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City; and Professor, Doctor and Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Minh Thuy from the Department of Food Technology, College of Agriculture under Can Tho University.
Professor Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai (L) and Professor Nguyen Minh Thuy (R). Photo: Do Binh |
Dr. Mai, 50, born in Vietnam’s south-central province of Quang Ngai, graduated from the University of Science with a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Analytical Chemistry. She earned a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Japan’s Toyama University.
Mai was awarded Ho Chi Minh City Creative Awards in 2019 and the Professor title in 2020. She has led 14 ministerial and provincial-level research projects, the most outstanding among them was the one on extracting active substances from plants for the development of new drugs for diabetes, gout and melasma.
Dr. Thuy, from the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, graduated from Thailand’s Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) with a Master’s Degree in Post-harvest Technology in 1992 and earned a PhD in Food Technology at KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) in Belgium in 2007.
Thuy was honored with the Professor title in food technology in 2020. Her research has focused on addressing issues in the distribution of agricultural products and provision of support for farmers and agribusinesses hit by natural disasters, fire and epidemics.
The Kovalevskaya Award is named after Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891), the first major Russian female mathematician, who made important contributions to mathematical analysis, differential equations and mechanics, and the first woman appointed to a full professorship in Northern Europe.
The Vietnam Kovalevskaya Award Committee was founded in 1985 and is headed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh, former vice president of Vietnam. It is the first national award for female scientists.
The prestigious annual award is given to organizations and individuals who are female scientists and have excellent achievements in researching and applying science to life, bringing benefits in different fields including economy, society and culture.
As of 2020, the award has been presented to 49 individuals and 20 groups of female scientists in various fields such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, agriculture, medicine and information technology.
