Associate Professor gave up an opportunity abroad to return to Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

After graduating with a PhD in Taiwan, Le Thanh Long gave up teaching opportunities in Canada and several European countries to return to the school that trained him as a student.

2023 is a special year for Associate Professor Le Thanh Long, 35 years old, lecturer at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City National University, with a "quadruple" of awards and titles. He was appointed to the title of Associate Professor, honored as an Advanced Youth Following Uncle Ho's Teachings for the 7th time nationwide, an outstanding young cadre of Ho Chi Minh City National University for three consecutive years and is one of 14 outstanding young citizens of the city. A year earlier, he received the Golden Globe Science and Technology Award from the Central Youth Union.

Associate Professor Long said this is the sweet fruit of a journey of tireless research and always trying his best.

"When I returned home, I didn't think I would receive so many awards," said Mr. Long.

Mr. Le Thanh Long was appointed associate professor at the age of 35. Photo: Character provided

Mr. Long is a former student of Hung Vuong High School for the Gifted, Gia Lai Province. Because he liked engineering, technology and automation when watching the Robocon competition, in 2006, he took the entrance exam for the Mechatronic Engineering major at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. Seeing that the previous year this major had the highest score in the school, Mr. Long hoped that after graduating, he would have a good prospect.

However, he could not pursue this dream for long. In his second year, his family's financial situation was difficult, so Long had to switch to Mechanical Engineering, a talented engineer program, to get more scholarships and monthly allowances.

"The talented engineer program invested in a team of good lecturers and good content, but at that time only the Mechanical Engineering major had this program, so I had no other choice," he recalled.

Like many other students, Mr. Long hopes to graduate and work in a large company or multinational corporation to have a good income. But his thoughts and direction changed when he started designing PEMFC fuel cells in his third year of university. For the first time doing research, Mr. Long did not know the method, had to read many documents from abroad, many times discouraged and wanted to give up. At these times, his teachers encouraged him and guided him on how to solve the problem step by step. After completing the topic, Mr. Long became more confident and passionate about research.

"I realized that research is not just a job, but an adventure and a constant exploration and search for new things," said Mr. Long, adding that this was the reason for going to Taiwan to do research.

In 2016, Mr. Long graduated with a PhD from National Central University in Taiwan, receiving the award for outstanding Vietnamese scientist in the field of Mechanical Engineering there. With his achievements and research capacity, he has the opportunity to teach, settle in Canada and some European countries or stay in Taiwan.

After thinking, he chose to return home to be close to his family and contribute to the place that trained him.

"The University of Technology is a favorable environment for me to continue my passion for research. Moreover, I want to pass on the passion and desire for change to students, like what I was fortunate to receive from my teachers," Mr. Long shared.

Associate Professor Long instructs students. Photo: Provided by the character

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thanh Long has published 51 scientific articles, of which 35 were in prestigious international journals and scientific conferences. He is the head of 5 accepted topics, an exclusive patent for a useful solution on negative pressure rooms, applied in many hospitals during the Covid-19 epidemic in 2020.

The solution is based on the principle that the pressure in the room is lower than the environmental pressure, so the air can only go from one side and cannot escape through the side it entered. This helps ensure microbiological safety, preventing the virus from spreading back into the environment during the process of caring for and treating patients. This is a product that Mr. Long is proud of because he and his team completed it quickly in the context of the whole country implementing social distancing and the tense epidemic situation in Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition, Mr. Long is also the author of many products with practical applications such as disinfectant spray booths, water purifiers, and IoT check-in machines at Bach Khoa. In particular, IoT check-in at Bach Khoa helps identify people entering the school by scanning cards with a camera in 5 seconds, without worrying about congestion when many people scan at the same time. In addition to Bach Khoa, the product is used at a number of other schools.

Associate Professor Long shared that on a journey without limits like scientific research, he feels happy because his love and efforts for research have been proven. But he always reminds himself not to be complacent with his achievements, always move forward, find new things.

He and his colleagues are focusing on developing Mechanical - Automation devices, robots that apply artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) technology... to solve problems in many fields such as agriculture, industry, medicine...

"I always try to direct my work towards solving urgent social problems with practical applications. In reality, there are countless problems that need improvement and change, and that is an endless source of motivation for research," said Mr. Long.

Vnexpress.net

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