Top ten science and technology events of 2014

The Science and Technology Journalists Club and the Science and Technology Communication Research and Development Centre has announced the ten most significant scientific and technological (S&T) events of the 2014 year.

The events were chosen based on six fields: mechanism and policy, social sciences and humanities, fundamental research, applied research, international cooperation and honouring scientists.

1. Decrees and Circulars issued to enhance the implementation of Law on Science and Technology

The Ministry of Science and Technology submitted six decrees to the government on the instruction of the implementation of the Science and Technology Law. These are meant to create mechanisms and policies to boost the development of science and technology in the country. The Law on Science and Technology, approved by the National Assembly in June 2013, came into effect on January 1, 2014.

2. First-ever Vietnam Science and Technology Day (May 18) held

The National Assembly approved the Science and Technology Law, which stipulated that the Vietnam Science and Technology Day will be celebrated every May 18 annually. This year, the event was organised for the first time by the Ministry of Science and Technology under the theme: "Science and Technology – The motivation for fast and sustainable development."

3. Successfully organising international symposium on "Underwater Archaeology in Vietnam and Southeast Asia"

The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and the Quang Ngai provincial People’s Committee co-organised an international scientific workshop on ‘Underwater Archaeology in Vietnam and Southeast Asia: Co-operation for Development’ in Quang Ngai city in mid-October.

The participating scientists affirmed that Viet Nam has great potential in terms of sunken cultural treasures. In addition, the scientists revealed that the country has faced many difficulties in the research, preservation and promotion of the treasures.

4. Manufacturing steel and unburned materials from red mud

The Institute of Chemistry, under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, carried out a national research project on steel manufacturing and unburned material production using red mud in the manufacturing process of alumina in Central Highlands. The research was part of the National Programme of Scientific and Technological for Socio - Economic Development, known as Tay Nguyen 3 Programme, being conducted from 2011 to 2015.

5. Successfully producing Rotavin-M1, an anti-diarrhea vaccine for children

Vietnam becomes the second Asian country, and the fourth nation in the world, to successfully conduct research on, and produce, anti-diarrhea vaccines for children.

The vaccine was created by the Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals (POLYVAC).

Successfully producing Rotavin-M1, an anti-diarrhea vaccine for children

6. Agricultural Genetics Institute given Outstanding Achievement Awards

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) presented the Outstanding Achievement Award to the Agricultural Genetics Institute under the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The institute developed rice and mutant soybean varieties that improved local farmers' livelihoods.

The awards were given to honour the teams of scientists "who have helped increase food security by using radiation to breed better crop varieties."

7. Application of stem cell technology in cancer treatment at Hue Central Hospital

Doctors of the Hue Central Hospital conducted research on the application of stem cell technology in breast cancer and cervical cancer treatment. They used stem cell transplantats to successfully treat a patient suffering from last stage cervical cancer. The operation marked the success of the research.

8. US–Vietnamese co-operation in nuclear energy for peaceful purposes

Vietnam's Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan and United States Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear officially signed, on May 6, a bilateral agreement on using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

The agreement aimed to adjust the commercial transactions conducted in the nuclear energy field. It was also drafted to create a legal framework for the cooperation between Vietnam and the United States in research, development and the application of nuclear energy.

9. Professor Chau Van Minh elected NASB member

Vietnamese Professor Chau Van Minh has been elected from 20 applicants around the world, as a new member of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB). Vietnamese Professor Chau Van Minh, who is Director of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), was recognised for his contributions in the field of chemistry.

Along with professor Minh, Professor Anton Zeilinger and Professor Alexander Aseyev also became new foreign members of the NASB. This marks the first time the NASB has elected new foreign members in the last 15 years, increasing the number of NASB foreign members to 13.

10. Three Vietnamese researchers named among the world’s most influential

Three Vietnamese researchers were named in Thomson Reuters' list of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds of 2014. They are Professor Dam Thanh Son, a physicist from the University of Chicago, Professor Nguyen Son Binh, chemistry lecturer from Northwestern University, and Dr Nguyen Xuan Hung, a computer science lecturer from Ho Chi Minh City University of Science.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)