(VOVworld) – Associate Professor Nguyen Nhi Dien has a great passion for nuclear science, which is relatively new to Vietnam. He was one of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s 4 emulation role models for the 2011-2015 period and was honored at the recent 9th National Patriotic Emulation Congress.
After graduating from the University of Hanoi in 1978 Nguyen Nhi Dien began to work at the Ministry of Science and Technology. At that time Vietnam was just starting to research nuclear science at the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute. Although Dien was born in Hanoi he volunteered to go to Da Lat to help construct the Da Lat nuclear reactor.
Dien was one of the first 10 Vietnamese people to be trained in Russia in installing, operating, and managing a nuclear reactor. He said: “When I was selected to go to Russia I felt a great responsibility to work harder. My research projects have contributed to the development of Vietnam’s healthcare and agricultural sectors. I will do my best to deserve the trust of the Party and the state.”
Dien has been working at the Da Lat nuclear research institute for 36 years. He is tasked with producing radioisotopes and analyzing neutron activation methods. Physics and energy start-up of the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor for full core conversion to low enriched uranium fuel was one of Vietnam’s top 10 science-technology events of the 2011-2013 period. The return to Russia in July, 2013, of highly enriched uranium fuel rods used by the Da Lat nuclear reactor, was an important milestone in Vietnam’s science-technology sector. In April, 2015, Associate professor Dien designed and produced a new type of container to increase the productivity of radioisotopes 5 times to meet the demand of hospitals using nuclear medicine. Dien says he works 12 hours a day to nurture his passion for science: “I love to work and want to learn new technologies. My work prompts me to learn more.”
Dien says he will continue his passion for science to serve Vietnam’s modernization and industrialization.