Vietnamese scholars and their US partners have earned three awards in a
US Government programme to fund scientific research in developing
countries, according to a press release issued by the US Embassy in
Vietnam.
The result came after the US Agency for
International Development (USAID) and the National Science Foundation
(NSF), under the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER)
awards, announced its second round of research collaboration grants.
PEER
is a USAID-funded competitive grants programme that is being
administered by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in coordination
with NSF.
Vietnam’s winning research programmes include ‘the
conservation genetics for improved biodiversity and resource management
in a changing Mekong Delta’, ‘Technical development and field-testing
of a self-contained inexpensive wave energy converter device’, and
‘Evaluating the sustainability of groundwater resources: academic and
scientific gaps’.
The first programme will examine genetic
adaptation of populations to the changing conditions of the Mekong Delta
caused by increasing effects of damming, development, agriculture and
climate change. The research associates are Dang Thuy Binh from Nha
Trang University and Kent E. Carpenter from Old Dominion
University.
The second one will work to develop a
field-deployable wave energy converter device to provide basic
electrical needs for people living in underdeveloped and remote coastal
communities in Vietnam. The project will focus on further developing
the wave energy converter device to improve mechanical and electrical
efficiency, reduce production costs and explore potential uses such as
an ocean sensor platform. The research is jointly conducted by Tho H.
Nguyen of Tan Tao University and Brian Bingham of the University
of Hawaii.
The last one will sample groundwater around
Hanoi to assess the risks of arsenic contamination. Young scientists
will be trained and carry out the sampling and gather information needed
to ensure the safety and sustainability of aquifers. The research is
co-hosted by Pham T.K. Trang of Hanoi University of Science and
Benjamin Carlos Bostick of Columbia University.
In
2013, USAID and the NSF have awarded 54 new research projects in 32
countries totaling nearly 7.5 million USD to collaborate on areas such
as agroforestry, groundwater purification, biodiversity, volcano risk
reduction, and drought and climate change.
PEER Science awardees
were selected from nearly 300 high-quality proposals and represent over
76 million USD of leveraged NSF funding through collaborations with
their US research partners.
The third call for PEER Science proposals is expected to be announced in early September 2013.-VNA