Recent AIT grad from Vietnam wins ‘Best Student Paper Award’ from West Coast Section of the Air and Waste Management Association, USA

Friday 17 July 2015 14:49
Vietnam national Mr. Lai Nguyen Huy graduated from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, on May 22, 2015.

But just a few weeks after earning his Master's degree in Environmental Engineering and Management, the newly minted alumnus received word in the mail that his 'student paper' titled "Development of National Industrial Emission Inventory for Vietnam" was selected as the 2015 winner of the prestigious West Coast Section of the Air and Waste Management Association Student Paper Competition.

Huy, 25, explained that the paper was a part of his larger final thesis. His study calculated the overall total of greenhouse gases emissions in each of Vietnam's 63 provinces. While still a master's student, he was able to precisely pinpoint the levels of the main pollutants seeping into the air, such as Sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, black carbon, organic carbon and others.

His core findings were that the Red River basin area in northern Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh metropolitan region in the south experienced very high air-borne emissions compared to the rest of the country. "After I calculated the inventory of GHG emissions, I developed a method for modelling air quality," he said.

The Dong Nai province native is now employed as a research associate in the Environmental Engineering and Management (EEM) field of study at the AIT School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD.

As this year's winner, Huy was invited to attend the association's annual conference and exhibition in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA on June 22 – 25, and participate in the Student Poster Competition. But due to work commitments, he was unable to travel to America to participate at the ceremony.

He was, however, awarded a cash prize of US$ 500 from West Coast Section A&WMA for his success, and will soon be presented with an official award from his former academic supervisor Prof. Kim Oahn of EEM, SERD.