Vietnam now has a very weak math base, a mathematician criticized Tuesday at an international math conference in Ho Chi Minh City.
Professor Le Tuan Hoa, chairman of the Vietnam Mathematical Society, revealed that the nation, with a population of nearly 90 million, has only 1,000 people holding a PhD in math, only one-fifth of whom actually work in the math field.
These are very modest numbers in comparison to other countries, he complained.
A middle-ranking European university often boasts more than 200 math PhDs, while Microsoft alone has over 1,000 employees with a math doctoral degree, Prof Hoa pointed out.
This proves that the Vietnamese math field is falling behind, both on theoretical and applicable grounds, he said.
To help improve the situation, Prof Hoa said, Vietnam should try to bring home excellent overseas Vietnamese mathematicians, and at the same time invite eminent international scientists to frequently come and work with local talent.
Prof Hoa has been elected chairman of the Southeast Asian Mathematical Society for the 2012-2014 term.
The conference, which is organized by the HCMC-based University of Economics and Law and will conclude on Thursday, has been attended by over 120 local and international scientists, including Prof Efim Zelmanov – the Russian Fields Medal winner in 2004.
The Fields Medal is a prize awarded every four years that was created to honor up to four mathematicians under the age of 40 for their outstanding discoveries in mathematics.
Vietnamese mathematician Ngo Bao Chau won last year.
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