Professor Lê Anh Tuấn is passionate about research on automation and robotics. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Thu

HÀ NỘI — Lê Anh Tuấn, a lecturer of Vietnam Maritime University, was honoured to receive the title of professor last year when he was 40.

He is the youngest professor in Việt Nam working in the mechanical engineering field.

He is passionate about research on automation and robotics to solve practical problems, for example, application of robotic arms in maritime, construction and healthcare sectors.

Tuấn has published a series of scientific studies in leading journals including 31 studies in international journals and 21 in domestic journals.

He is working on research under the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development Programme about four new control structures (algorithms) for floating container cranes that can be applied at river ports with narrow and shallow inlet channels like the ones in Hải Phòng and HCM City.

Associate Professor Phạm Xuân Dương, director of the Vietnam Maritime University, said: “Professor Tuấn is a scientist dedicated to research.”

In 2014, the Board of Directors of Vietnam Maritime University appointed Tuấn as the head of the automotive engineering department of Mechanics Institute.

However five years later, Professor Tuấn resigned from the position to focus on in-depth research.

He said: “I have achieved success in my work thanks to my love and passion for science, and I only choose one path."

That passion started more than 20 years ago when Tuấn was a computer science student of Quốc Học Huế High School for Gifted Students in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế.

He passed the university exam and was admitted to three universities: University of Science and Technology - University of Đà Nẵng, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering and Vietnam Maritime University.

Finally he decided to choose the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vietnam Maritime University located in northern Hải Phòng City.

Tuấn said due to difficult financial circumstances, he chose Hải Phòng because he could stay with his aunt to save on living expenses which were covered mostly by scholarships.

After graduation, he became a lecturer thanks to excellent academic records.

Professor Tuấn continued to make efforts to bring his studies to the world, but his lack of foreign languages held him back.

The young lecturer learned English by himself. He bought English books and studied day and night. He struggled at first, but eventually passed an English exam and received a TOEFL certificate.

Tuấn started his studies in the Republic of Korea in 2010 thanks to the scholarship offered by Kyung Hee University. He completed a Doctorate degree in 2012.

The professor participated in many research co-operation programmes with foreign universities such as Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), University of University of Technology Sydney (Australia), University of Birmingham (United Kingdom).

In November 2016, he received the title of Associate Professor granted by the State Council of Professors.

Talking about scientific research in Việt Nam, Tuấn stressed the necessity of studying and researching abroad  for a scientist.

Tuấn has also edited and given feedback on international journals, and participated in professional councils of a number of international conferences. This is a good way to approach and learn knowledge and research trends from colleagues, scientific researchers, and international scholars, and apply it in Việt Nam. —  VNS