The Kovalevskaia prize for outstanding female scientists was awarded to the Agricultural Electro-mechanics and Post-harvest Technology Institute's Dr Nguyen Thi Hong and a collective of biological researchers belonging to the Vietnam Academy & Science and Technology Institute.

The chairwoman of the Kovalevskaia Prize Committee presents awards to a team of female scientists.

Honouring the contributions of female scientists to the development and application of technology across Vietnam, the Kovalevskaia prize for 2005 was awarded to Dr Hong and the collective of biological scientists at an awards ceremony in Hanoi yesterday.

The ceremony was attended by former Vice President and chairwoman of Vietnam Kovalevskaia Prize Committee, Nguyen Thi Binh and Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women's Union, Ha Thi Khiet.

Prize-winner Dr Hong is head of the husbandry research department under the Agricultural Electro-mechanics and Post-harvest Technology Institute, where she has been in charge of 12 research projects on designing machines and equipment used to treat post-harvest products.

During her 30 years of work there, Dr Hong has worked on devices for dying corn seeds following the national standard to replace equipment imported from the US and Thailand, the EV-200 machine to grind animal feed and the EM-0,5 machine to press sugarcane.

Her research and technical transfer projects have been carried out in 16 provinces and cities nation-wide as well as four provinces in Laos.

Hong has also been awarded six labour creation certificates from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour.

The other Kovalevskaia winner was a collective of scientists at the Petroleum Micro-organism Department under the Biological Technology Institute, a member of the Vietnam Academy & Science and Technology.

After 15 years of work, the department, comprised mostly of women, has studied ways to properly use beneficial micro-organisms and limit unwanted micro-organisms in oil and gas exploitation, petroleum conservation and environmental protection.

Since 1986, the Kovalevskaia prize has been awarded to 28 woman scientists and 12 collectives for their achievements in scientific research and application, and their contribution to national modernisation and urbanisation.

(Source: Viet Nam News)