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Fields Medal winner unveils 2011 plans

Fields Medal winner Prof Dr Ngo Bao Chau has two goals this year: Helping Vietnamese mathematicians improve and setting up a fund to promote learning.

Last year’s Fields Medal winner Prof Dr Ngo Bao Chau has set himself two goals this year: Helping Vietnamese mathematicians improve and setting up a fund to promote learning.

Prof. Ngo Bao Chau

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, he said, “2010 was a special year for me since the scientific project I began in 1993 culminated in my winning the Fields Medal last year and presenting my paper at the International Congress of Mathematicians in India last August.”

But the success has created mixed feelings in him, he said. While he is happy at his achievements, there is also concern about his goals for 2011 and how to meet them, he said.

He plans to help develop the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Studies in Mathematics (VIASM) that was set up last month in Hanoi by the Ministry of Education and Training.

The idea of setting up such an institute was mooted more than a decade ago by Prof Phillips A. Griffiths, former chief of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, the US, Chau said.

Griffiths has assisted many developing countries establish Princeton-style math institutes, including in Brazil and South Korea where they are operating well, he said.

“Griffiths convinced then Prime Minister Phan Van Khai that such a model is appropriate for Vietnam, but for certain reasons, the initiative was not followed up.”

Now that it has been set up, VIASM should have a flexible management mechanism and its members should be paid higher than normal so that they can devote all their energy to research, he said.

The recruitment targets are math teachers at local universities, Vietnamese mathematicians working abroad, and foreigners, who will be recruited based on their research background and ability to work in a team, he explained. They will work at the institute for two months to three years, he said.

“One of the main tasks of the Institute is to improve the research capabilities of mathematicians at universities. Another is to come up with new research subjects and organize new groups of researchers.

“I find that the areas of mathematics studies have virtually remained unchanged for the last 20 years, and I think that is also seen in other scientific fields.”

Regarding his role at VIASM, Chau said: “I will encourage Vietnamese mathematicians at home and abroad to work together to develop projects that are practical and feasible.

Based on those projects, the institute’s scientific council, of which I am a member, will set up annual programs.”

Vietnam Intellect Fund

Chau hopes to develop the Vietnam Intellect Fund that he has co-founded with FPT Group chief Nguyen Thanh Nam and Viettel deputy general director Nguyen Manh Hung.

FPT is a technology company while Viettel is in telecom. FPT is wrapping up procedures for the establishment of the Fund which is aimed at supporting Vietnamese talents in science and technology.

Nam is likely to be its president and Chau its director, FPT University headmaster Le Truong Tung said.

From this year it will grant three annual prizes of VND1 billion (US$50,000) each to Vietnamese individuals working at home or abroad for outstanding achievements in science and technology, he added.

It will also organize scientific creativity contests for students and conduct workshops for scientists, students, and others.

“I hope the Fund will be supported by businesses, individuals, and scientists who are willing to contribute to Vietnam’s scientific development,” Chau said.

Interestingly, he hopes to change his working methods. “Previously, probably due to some existential reason, I had a feeling all the time that I needed to go as fast as I could, and in doing so I had to go alone.“But in future, I want to have companions. “After all, the vitality of mathematics originates from each individual’s discovery efforts and from supporting others, especially younger people, to join that discovery. “In [this], I have to learn more from my teacher Gérald Laumon.”

Confidence, efforts needed

We need to have confidence and make constant efforts for the Fund and Institute to achieve success, he said.

These were the very factors that helped him complete his work on the Fundamental Lemma, which won him the Fields Medal.

“The Fields Medal has caused great excitement to many Vietnamese. It does not solve any specific issue in people’s life, but it has bolstered confidence in the ability of the Vietnamese.”

 

Source: Tuoi Tre
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