Nuclear&Science Days 2017 held in Hanoi

On 18 May the Nuclear Industry Information Centre opened Nuclear&Science Days 2017, a series of education events on nuclear engineering and technologies, organized by Rosatom (the State Atomic Energy Corporation, Russia) and supported by the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (Vinatom) and the Hanoi Polytechnic University.

The official opening ceremony was attended by representatives of Rosatom, senior managers of Vinatom, high-ranking officials from the Vietnamese government authorities in charge of policy implementation in the sector of nuclear science and technology, by experts and the press.
Vinatom’s President Tran Chi Thanh emphasized the importance of making the general public aware of the options for peaceful use of nuclear technologies. ‘Atom is not a soldier, atom is a worker,’ he said.

Russo-Vietnamese Nuclear&Science Days are held in Hanoi for the second time in the last two years with support from Rosatom and close involvement of the Vietnamese side. Head of Rosatom’s Regional Centre in Southeast Asia and Regional Vice President of “Rusatom – International Network” Egor Simonov said, ‘Russia and Vietnam have spent decades working together in nuclear research. It is our hope that this cooperation will successfully continue going forward. Nuclear technologies are making a significant contribution to sustainable development and are applied in such major areas as healthcare and agriculture. However, they are ridden with a myriad of stereotypes and myths, and one of our key efforts is to offer objective information on atom for peace and its role in society.’

The agenda of this two-day event includes a series of lectures by Vitaly Khryachkov, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics and Head of Experimental Nuclear Physics at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering. He will discuss advanced application of nuclear technologies for sustainable development and, specifically, the use of radiation in agriculture and healthcare as well as the myths that still surround radiation. Vinatom’s Vice President Nguyen Hao Quang will make a presentation on how Vietnam is using nuclear technologies in non-energy sectors. Director of Nuclear Medicine Department of 108 Hospital Professor Le Ngoc Ha will discuss Vietnam’s successful practices in the implementation of nuclear technologies in medicine.

Some of the events have been specifically designed for students of the Hanoi Polytechnic University, such as Atomic Force, an educational contest where they will be offered questions on radiation security and the use of nuclear technologies outside the energy sector. At another event, intellectual quiz Atomic Hypothesis, students will be asked to come forward with the most compelling hypotheses and prove their viability. The event will be crowned by the Career Workshop for Students where participants will have to offer personal evidence in answer to the question, Why Science?