Professor Charles Nguyen Cuong on the campus of the Catholic University of America in Washington, US

Topping the numerous triumphs in his life, Charles Nguyen Cuong – dean of a US university – has been honored with a lifetime achievement award by the US engineering and architecture association.

Cuong, who has won many prizes and contributed a lot to the fields of engineering, outer space, medicine and robotics said: “I’m happy that I have been chosen [for the award] this year. It is not only a matter of pride for me, but for my family and my university as well.”

The District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architectural Society (DCCEAS) annual award is considered an eminent prize for outstanding architects and engineers.

“The Lifetime Achievement Award is our highest honor, and is bestowed to those who have made meaningful contributions throughout their lifetimes,” said Ruplu Bhattacharya, president of the council.

Born in the central city of Da Nang, Cuong went to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972 to study engineering. He then immigrated to the US in 1978 and earned a doctorate at the University of George Washington in 1982.

He worked later for many academic institutes, companies and governmental agencies, including the US Library of Congress, and Siemens Corporation.

In 2001, Cuong was appointed as the engineering dean of the Catholic University of America in Washington and has served three terms of four years each.

In 2004, he became a presidential appointee to the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation and he stayed in office for three years.

Cuong plans to come to Vietnam and work with high-ranking Vietnamese officials on exchange education between the two countries.

“During 37 years of studying in Germany and living in the US, my achievements can be attributed to hard work and honesty,” Cuong said.

“I am a foreigner [in those countries], so to gain position of leadership, I must try twice as hard at least in order to get credit and confidence of colleagues,” he added.

However, while he has worked for his success, Cuong has never thought that he is working, but that he is enjoying himself.

“They pay me to have fun,” he said.

Cuong’s list of prizes includes a Research Initiation Award from Engineering Foundation in 1986 and Lifetime Achievement Award from World Automation Congress in 2004.

Source: Tuoi Tre