Vietnamese teacher rises from family coffee farm to full professor in US

Nguyen Trong Toan, 43, is now a professor at Pennsylvania State University, which is ranked 17th among public universities in the U.S. according to U.S. News & World Report.

In addition to teaching, his primary focus is research in mathematical physics, encompassing fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, quantum mechanics, and relativity theory.

The Vietnamese professor has earned numerous accolades in mathematics, the most notable being the Centennial Fellowship from the American Mathematical Society in 2018 and the T. Brooke Benjamin Prize at the 2022 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Conference on Nonlinear Waves and Coherent Structures.

Professor Nguyen Trong Toan lectures at Pennsylvania State University in January, 2024. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Trong Toan

"Despite starting from a challenging background, I hope to show people that we are all born to succeed," Toan said.

Born into a poor family from Nghe An Province that relocated to the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak in 1979 under an economic resettlement initiative, Toan's early life was marked by modest means. His mother worked as a primary school teacher in the village's only school, while his father planted coffee on the family's garden.

During the mid-1990s, rising coffee prices enabled many villagers to build homes and buy motorbikes. Toan contemplated leaving school to join his friends in coffee farming.

"But my parents believed that education was the right path to change our fate. They told me I had to continue my studies," Toan recalled.

With his family's encouragement, Toan was admitted to the inaugural talent bachelor’s program in Mathematics at the University of Natural Sciences, part of Vietnam National University (VNU), Ho Chi Minh City, in 1998.

Toan attributes much of his success to the opportunities he received in college. The specialized program provided close mentorship from professors and a stimulating academic environment. "In an excellent group, no one tolerates mediocrity. Being among talented people forces you to become better," he said.

After graduating in 2002, he briefly worked at a computing company, earning VND4.5 million (US$177.55) per month, but was restricted from bringing his math books to study. Realizing that his passion lay in mathematics, he left the job after a few months to return as a teaching assistant at his university, accepting a salary one-tenth of his previous pay.

During this period, his family provided financial support, even as they still had to pay for his two younger siblings' university education. One of Toan’s professors, Dang Duc Trong, showed his support by letting Toan and other students live in his home rent-free.

It was around this time that Toan met Professor Le Dung, who encouraged him to pursue a master’s program under his mentorship at the University of Texas, San Antonio (UTSA). Despite the school being a small institution with limited research resources, Toan saw it as an opportunity to learn and grow.

"Going to new places, learning new things, and doing things I’d never done felt like the right path," he said.

He arrived in the U.S. in 2004, navigating language barriers and balancing his studies with teaching assistant duties. Over time, Toan adapted, completing his master’s degree in 2006 with six published papers in international journals.

For his Ph.D., Toan had two choices: New York University, which required tuition for the first two years, or Indiana University, which offered a full scholarship for five years. Choosing financial stability, he enrolled at Indiana University.

At Indiana, Toan was captivated by Professor Kevin Zumbrun’s teaching and eventually secured his mentorship by solving two of Zumbrun’s problems in stability theory in 2008. Professor Zumbrun initially advised Toan to pursue popular fields like computational mathematics, but Toan took a different path.

"Following trends means you’ll never catch up," Toan said.

He chose to explore mathematical frameworks for understanding physical phenomena. His independent study was published in Duke Mathematical Journal, one of the leading mathematics journals, helping him complete his Ph.D. in just three years by 2009.

After a postdoctoral year in France, Toan returned to the U.S. as an Assistant Professor at Brown University, an Ivy League school. In 2013, he joined Pennsylvania State University, advancing to Associate Professor within five years and reaching Full Professor, the highest academic rank, in 2022. He has since been invited to lecture at Princeton, MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, and other prestigious institutions worldwide.

Nguyen Trong Toan (L) and Frederic Rousset, Director of the Mathematics Department of Orsay Paris-Saclay University in France, in July, 2024. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Trong Toan

Princeton’s Professor Sergiu Klainerman said that "Toan is an outstanding scientist, full of energy and ideas, with a great sense of mathematical aesthetics.

"He tackles deep and challenging problems while maintaining broad scientific interests."

Reflecting on his journey, Toan believes in the importance of self-dialogue when facing seemingly unsolvable problems. "It's either a lack of knowledge or a stagnant mindset," he said. He often re-examines basic principles and breaks rules to simplify challenges. Despite changes in research direction, giving up was never an option.

To enrich his knowledge, Toan not only reads but also teaches. Since his Ph.D. days, he has organized research-focused classes for students and colleagues.

Part of his mission is to connect Vietnamese students with global experts and study opportunities. In 2008, he co-founded the "Summer Meeting" program at the University of Natural Sciences. In 2014, he helped organize the first summer school on partial differential equations and applied mathematics in Hanoi, drawing nearly 100 students and numerous international professors.

His efforts continued with the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, hosting summer schools on Mathematical Physics in Hanoi (2022), Quy Nhon (2023), and Hue (2024), featuring over 30 professors from 15 countries and around 100 students.

Toan's message to students emphasizes perseverance: "Effort creates opportunities. Keep striving to excel in what you do well and take on new challenges. Don’t settle too soon."