>>Vietnamese-American students win big at ISEF

>> Vietnamese students compete at international science fair

Two Vietnamese American students won three prizes at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the US.

Mai Anh and Quoc Bao at the granting ceremony of Special Awards

Mai Anh (left) and Quoc Bao (right) at their display

Vu Mai Anh and Nguyen Quoc Bao, two cousins, competed at the contest with their research on “a new super-catalyst”, which can cause reactions in certain chemicals more quickly and effectively than current catalysts. The new substance can be produced in a large amount simply at low costs.

The work received two prizes in the Special Awards category on May 12: one, the first prize, was a scholarship worth USD3000, given by the United State Army. They also took home fourth prize, USD1,000, presented by the American Chemical Society.

On May 13, the students won again. This time it was the first prize for chemistry worth USD3,000 under the Grand Awards category.

The ISEF is an annual even organised by Intel Group, which includes two main prize categories: Special Prizes and Grand Prizes.

There were more than 300 special prizes presented by dozens of government agencies, organisations, associations and businesses from different countries. The U.S. Army gave out around 20 awards, making it one of the largest contributers.

A grand prize was given in each of the 17 areas, which included animal sciences, behavioral and social sciences, biochemistry, chemistry, among others.

Mai Anh said happily that, “The prizes are a great honour for us. And we’d like to thank the people who supported us. Our parents and teachers must be very happy.”

Bao said, the board of examiners of the United State Army paid special attention to their research during the testing phase. One of the board members asked to use their idea in an upcoming lecture.

The two students hope to contact pharmaceutical companies to put their work to practical use.

Both students at McNeil High School in Austin, Texas, Bao is in the 12th grade and Mai is in the 10th. Both of are interested in chemistry. Last year, Bao attended the Intel’s contest at the city level, but didn’t make it to the state level.,

This was the first time Mai Anh took part in the contest. She said she will continue her work and plans to take part in next year’s ISEF.

Both students plan to major in chemistry when they go to university. Nguyen Nghiem, Mai Anh’s mother, is a chemical engineer at IBM and her husband is a physicist. They came to the US in 1975 and went to high school and university in the U.S. Mai Anh was born in the US but she can speak Vietnamese very well.

Besides Mai Anh and Bao, many contestants from other Asian countries such as China, South Korea and India as well as Asian American students received special prizes.