NC State Faculty Visit Partner Schools and Alumni in Vietnam and Thailand
As part of a trip to Asia, College of Sciences Dean Lewis Owen and several faculty members from NC State visited Wolfpack alumni and partner schools Feb. 10-14.
February 11: Vietnam
A delegation consisting of Owen; Paul Liu, professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and director of international affairs for the College of Sciences; Khai Nguyen, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics; and Kathryn Boys, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, visited Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City—University of Science (HCMUS).
During the morning meeting, participants exchanged information about institutional activities, shared achievements, and discussed opportunities for future research and educational collaboration. In the afternoon, they engaged with faculty and students from the biology, mathematics and oceanology departments.
In the past decade, Liu, Nguyen and Hien Tran from the Department of Mathematics have been actively collaborating with faculty from HCMUS.
Over the past five years, NC State has admitted 60 graduate students from Vietnam, including 21 Ph.D. students in the chemistry program, thanks to extensive efforts by faculty members Jonathan Lindsey and Reza Ghiladi. In April 2024, Dean Peter Harries from the NC State Graduate School also led a delegation visiting HCMUS. Both institutions expressed strong interest in expanding this chemistry-focused student training program to encompass all STEM disciplines in both research and education.
February 13-14: Thailand
Chao Phraya River Delta Excursion
On February 13, Butsawan Bidorn from the Water Resources Engineering Department at Chulalongkorn University led a coastal environmental field trip to the Chao Phraya River Delta, accompanied by her graduate student, Benz. During the excursion, participants witnessed dramatic shoreline retreat and severe mangrove loss over the past 50 years. Both institutions recognized their shared interests in coastal resilience and protection, with a commitment to collaborative efforts in training the next generation of environmentalists.
That evening, Owen hosted a dinner event in Bangkok, bringing together 12 NC State alumni from the area. Most alumni had earned doctoral degrees in NC State’s Colleges of Engineering, Natural Resources and Textiles over the past 20 years. Many are now faculty members at local universities, with some holding leadership positions as vice presidents, deans or department heads. Owen, Liu and Boys provided updates on NC State’s recent developments and global engagement activities. Alumni expressed deep appreciation for their transformative experiences at NC State and showed enthusiasm for strengthening NC State’s international connections with Thailand.
Chulalongkorn University Visit
On the morning of February 14, the delegation visited the Sustainable Environmental Research Institute and the Faculty of Economics at Chulalongkorn University, one of Thailand’s best and oldest universities. Chulalongkorn colleagues presented their 50 years of environmental research experience, including environmental training and carbon management services. Owen introduced NC State’s cross-campus environmental initiatives, such as the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative and the Climate and Sustainability Academy. Both sides explored potential research and educational collaborations.
Later in the afternoon, Owen, Boys and Liu visited Chulalongkorn’s Faculty of Science. Dean Pranut Potiyaraj, Assistant Dean Wuttichai Reaninthippayasakul, and Piyaphong Chenrai, head of the Geology Department, welcomed them. Faculty members introduced their extensive academic programs and international collaborations. Owen presented an overview of NC State and the College of Sciences’ academic programs. Discussions focused on undergraduate student exchange, 3+x programs, co-advised master’s and Ph.D. programs, and potential research collaborations.
Since 2017, NC State and Chula have established an effective memorandum of understanding for collaborative research and student and faculty exchanges. Currently, Chula students have been actively participating in NC State’s summer GEAR program.
For more information about this trip, or to inquire about other international partnership opportunities with the College of Sciences at NC State, please contact Paul Liu at jpliu@ncsu.edu.
