Fields Medalist Ngo Bao Chau recruits 6 world-class mathematicians to reverse Vietnam’s brain drain

Six internationally acclaimed Vietnamese mathematicians based in the U.S., France and Germany have committed to returning to Vietnam regularly to supervise doctoral students, in a program aimed at producing world-class researchers domestically rather than losing them to universities abroad.

The initiative, called « Converging Scholars, » was announced on March 6 by Prof. Ngo Bao Chau, the Fields Medal laureate who serves as Scientific Director of the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM).

Each of the six professors will spend two to three months per year working with VIASM over an initial three-year period, co-supervising doctoral candidates at the University of Science (HUS) under Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Chau framed the challenge in blunt economic terms: Vietnam has long been a top performer at the International Mathematical Olympiad, consistently ranking among the world’s best. But that pipeline of talent overwhelmingly flows abroad.

« Each year, only six students are selected for the IMO team, but around 50 have a similar or nearly equivalent level, » Chau said. With proper mentorship, he estimated Vietnam could steer about 25 of them toward careers in mathematical research or applied mathematics over the next decade.

« Of course, many excellent students receive scholarships to study abroad, » he said. « But for mathematics to be truly strong, we cannot be satisfied with ‘raw exports.’ We must drive ‘domestic production,’ meaning training elite, core talent at home to lead Vietnamese mathematics. »

The six scholars span a range of mathematical disciplines. Four are based in the U.S.: Dao Hai Long of the University of Kansas, whose work focuses on commutative algebra and algebraic geometry; Nguyen Xuan Long of the University of Michigan, who specializes in machine learning and mathematical statistics; Ha Huy Tai, who chairs the mathematics department at Tulane University; and Nguyen Trong Toan of Pennsylvania State University, who works in mathematical physics and fluid dynamics.

The remaining two are Ngo Dac Tuan, a researcher at France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and Phan Thanh Nam of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany.

Several competed at the IMO as teenagers. Others have received major international honors: Nam won the European Mathematical Society’s EMS Prize in 2020, and Toan received the T. Brooke Benjamin Prize from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics in 2022.

Together with Chau and Associate Prof. Le Minh Ha, VIASM’s Executive Director, they will co-supervise the doctoral students beginning this year. The program is expected to expand with more scholars in the future.

Prof. Vu Hoang Linh, Party Secretary of the University of Science, said Vietnam’s challenge is not identifying talent but retaining and developing it. « Beyond funding and facilities, having students guided by outstanding scientists is critically important, » he said.

Doctoral students in the program will receive tuition waivers, living stipends of up to VND16.7 million (US$637) per month and funding for conference attendance and potential overseas research stints, all financed by the Vietnam Innovation in Education Fund (VIEF).

Beyond the doctoral program, Chau said he plans to organize intensive mathematics workshops for groups ranging from gifted high school students to undergraduates and doctoral candidates, with lectures and discussions running full days or entire weeks rather than the typical class period.

« I consider participating in and supporting mathematics training and research in Vietnam to be my great mission, » he said. « This is also one of the reasons I am moving to work closer to Vietnam, at the University of Hong Kong. »

Chau announced in February that he would leave the University of Chicago, where he has worked for 15 years, to join the University of Hong Kong in China.

In an interview at the time, he said the move would bring him closer to his aging parents and allow him to pursue a long-held aspiration: deeper, more regular involvement in training young math enthusiasts in Vietnam.

By Duong Tam & Le Nguyen – VnExpress.net – March 7, 2026