Can Tran Thanh Trung, 29, will be teaching and conducting research at the University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.
Vu Hai Quan, the university’s director, praised Trung as an outstanding individual with a desire to guide the younger generation and contribute to his homeland.
"Trung had already expressed his wish to return home to work around four or five years ago. I fully support him, and with the VNU350 project, he will be facilitated by Vietnam National University (VNU), Ho Chi Minh City to develop and contribute to the country," Quan said last week.
"I believe Trung's decision to return has great significance and will inspire many young scientists."
The VNU350 project of the VNU, HCMC aims to attract scientists capable of independent teaching and research, contributing to the goal of making this university one of the top research institutions in Asia.
Can Tran Thanh Trung, the 2013 International Mathematics Olympiad gold medalist and valedictorian of Mathematics at Duke University. Photo by Ho Chi Minh City National University |
Trung will be assigned research topics and funding in the fields of cryptography, security, and blockchain applications.
The Vietnam National University will also support him in realizing his idea of establishing a center to train high school students, helping them access new knowledge and study at top universities worldwide.
A former student of the specialized Math class at the High School for the Gifted under the VNU, HCMC, Trung won the gold medal at the 2013 International Math Olympiad (IMO) in Colombia, becoming one of 57 Vietnamese students who have won gold in half a century of the country participating in the IMO.
He then attended Duke University on a full scholarship and graduated as the valedictorian in Mathematics in 2018, before pursuing his Ph.D. at Caltech.
Caltech is a leading global university in basic sciences and engineering, and has one with the highest per capita Nobel Prize winners in the U.S., known for its stringent admission criteria, with a total student body of only about 2,000, according to British publication Times Higher Education.