Ho Chi Minh City is implementing a plan to develop the field of computational science and technology, alongside plans to establish a Computational Science and Technology Institute, with the goal of launching operations in 2006 and producing results by 2010.
Significant Applications
Starting with computer simulations, computational science and technology (CST) has made remarkable contributions thanks to the increasingly superior computing capabilities of computers. With the development of CST, researchers are beginning to consider simulating extremely complex issues that have occurred in reality but cannot be experimentally tested, such as examining nuclear issues and cosmic explosions.
Moreover, in practical applications, simulations are often conducted perfectly on computers with specially designed, cost-effective software that is easier to observe and sometimes covers all cases more comprehensively than performing physical experiments.
“We are currently simulating an invention that has not been experimentally tested for decades: breaking rocks using water pressure. This solution is simply described as drilling a hole into the rock mass that needs to be extracted and using a piston to continuously force water in.
A company in the United States has hired us to simulate this invention, asking us to calculate whether they can use this invention instead of the current explosive methods for rock extraction,” said Professor Tran Cong Thanh regarding one of the applications of CST in everyday life.
In practice, according to Professor Thanh, everything from designing a bridge and calculating its load-bearing capacity at different points under various weather conditions to producing a plastic device and determining the flow of plastic into molds at specific moments and the pressure at each point can all be simulated on computers, yielding high research efficiency at a low cost.
In the field of biology, the application of CST is so familiar that it is referred to as bioinformatics, which involves research based on experiments simulated on computers. A series of successful studies on genes and protein structures have significantly benefited from computer simulations.
The applications of CST are becoming increasingly diverse, and the U.S. National Science Foundation asserts that this field will be a key factor supporting scientific research in the 21st century. For the U.S. President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, this will be a critical issue in leading science, economic competition, and national security.
The Challenge for Ho Chi Minh City
“Ten years ago, when I attended meetings of computational scientists from around the world, there were typically over 30 scientists present, with no Vietnamese residing in Vietnam and no Chinese attendees. Most recently, at a conference in China, there were over 8,000 scientists participating, including more than 800 Chinese scientists. Yet, still, no Vietnamese scientist living in Vietnam attended,” lamented Professor Nguyen Dang Hung, a Vietnamese expatriate living and working in Belgium, about Vietnam’s slow progress in this new scientific field.
In light of this situation, the development of CST, particularly the establishment of a Computational Science and Technology Research Institute, is a passionate topic for the leadership of Ho Chi Minh City. The immediate focus is on collaborating with talented and dedicated expatriate professors to develop training programs for human resources.
Deputy Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Nguyen Thien Nhan, affirmed: “Ho Chi Minh City will provide funding in the initial phase for the Computational Science and Technology Research Institute. I hope that after about two years of learning and research, the institute will produce its first results. Everything will be implemented in 2006; I have promised the scientists that funding for this project will be available when needed.”
According to GS-TS Nguyen Thien Nhan, one advantage for Ho Chi Minh City currently is the contribution of expatriate scientists. The collaboration between domestic intellectuals and these leading scientists promises a strong start, with hopes that we will establish a leading Computational Science and Technology Research Institute in the region soon.
