Diploma Foundations

Nature inspires many pursuits. For Tuan Anh Pham, that pursuit is physics, and this young Vietnamese researcher seems to be on the right track.

An ICTP Postgraduate Diploma alum (2007-2008), Pham has recently been awarded the prestigious Lawrence Fellowship by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the United States. The Lawrence Fellowship is a highly competitive postdoctoral position awarded to candidates "with exceptional talent, scientific track records, and potential for significant achievements". Pham is one of three recipients for the 2014 fellowships.

Pham began his journey in physics with a bachelor's degree from the Hanoi National University, Viet Nam. He then enrolled in ICTP's Condensed Matter Physics Postgraduate Diploma Programme and went on to pursue his PhD at the University of California, Davis, where he is currently working on his dissertation. "I have always been inspired by things like atoms, molecules, electromagnetic field, and the evolution of galaxies. Pursuing research in physics allows me to understand and explain the way that nature works," he says.

Like many students from developing countries, Pham faced some hurdles in accessing the latest scientific developments. "One of the greatest challenges was that our textbooks were usually outdated, and we had limited access to international journals, which made it hard to keep up with the changing world outside," he says. But, guidance from his undergraduate advisor Nguyen Van Lien, a regular scientific visitor to ICTP since 1987, helped Pham overcome these challenges. "Professor Lien introduced me to the ICTP Diploma Programme, which has been a milestone in my career. It not only provided me the basic background of condensed matter physics but also helped me with important aspects such as presentation and research skills."

Lien , is a faculty member at the Institute of Physics in Viet Nam and has been trying to push the best students to enroll in the Diploma Programme. "To my knowledge, the ICTP Diploma Programme is the only programme in the world where students from developing countries are able to be educated freely, impartially, humanly, and in the fundamental sciences," he says. Pham joined Lien's group at the Institute of Physics, where he worked on his undergraduate thesis. "During that year he co-authored two papers with me, which were published in Phys. Rev. B and Phys. Lett. A. He was the best young researcher in my institute," Lien adds.

Pham is now looking forward to spending the next three years at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab as a Lawrence Fellow and then hopes to continue his career in science either at national laboratories or at universities. Looking back, Pham has fond memories about his time at ICTP. "My classmates were friendly, and all the staff and researchers were extraordinarily helpful and supportive. Another thing was the ICTP library; it is the best library I have ever seen. And last but not least, the espresso was excellent."