Nguyet Anh Duong (; born 1960) is an American scientist responsible for the creation of an American

thermobaric weapon A thermobaric weapon, also called an aerosol bomb, or a vacuum bomb, is a type of explosive munition that works by dispersing an aerosol cloud of gas, liquid or powdered explosive. The fuel is usually a single compound, rather than a mixture o ...

.news.pacificnews.org
Dec 8, 2003 Bomb Lady She is noted as the "Scientist who developed the bomb that ended the war with Afghanistan" by the Vietnamese American National Gala. __TOC__

Biography

Dương Nguyệt Ánh was born in 1960 in Saigon, the capital of the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

. Her grandfather is famous poet and official Dương Khuê from Vân Đình village, Ứng Hòa rural district of

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. Besides, she has some relatives as well as official Dương Thiệu Tường (the first doctor of the Annamese

imperial exam The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started early i ...

), musician

Dương Thiệu Tước Dương (楊, ) is a Vietnamese surname, an estimated 1% of the Vietnamese population shares the last name. In transcription it is a Chinese family name or given name of Yang. The name is also transliterated as Yang in Korean and Yeung or Young ...

, scholar Dương Thiệu Tống... During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, her family left their homeland on April 28, 1975, right before the

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

. Becoming one of the

Vietnamese boat people Vietnamese boat people () were refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its highest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but continued well into the earl ...

, they eventually arrived in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. From there, they were assigned to a refugee camp. Her family then contacted the

Embassy of the United States, Manila The Embassy of the United States of America in Manila is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the Philippines. Its chancery is situated by Roxas Boulevard in Ermita, City of Manila. The Embassy has been representing the United States ...

and were given

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She graduated from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

with both a B.S. degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

and a B.S. degree in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

. In 1983 she started working as a

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

at the

Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) is a United States Navy installation in Charles County, Maryland. Part of Naval Sea Systems Command ( NAVSEA), it is one of ten divisions of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (WFC). Its ...

. From 1991-1999, she managed all navy basic, exploratory research and advanced development programs in high explosives. She also served as the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

focus point for

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

s and the transition of Navy explosives into weapon systems, providing consultation to government/military, industries and allied nations. From 1999-2002, she managed all NSWC Indian Head's technical programs in Explosives and Undersea Weapons, from concept through engineering development to production and demilitarization. She successfully assembled and led a team of scientists and engineers to develop a thermobaric bomb. They then proceeded to limited production and delivery to the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

, all in an unprecedented period of 67 days.YouTube
Award of 2007 National Security Medal Nguyet Anh successfully led the development and transition of a total of 10 high-performing explosives into 18 different weapons in the past 12 years, which is an unprecedented record of its kind. She has served as a U.S. Delegate at the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

AC310 Subgroup I for Explosives, and chairman/member of many national and international Panels/Technical Steering Groups. Since 2002, Nguyet Anh has been the director of Science and Technology of Naval Surface Warfare Center,

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

, where she was responsible for Indian Head's overall technical investment strategies, guiding and overseeing research and development programs in all areas of science and technology and focusing these efforts toward the creation of future weapon generations for the United States. Since 2009, Duong has been the director for the Borders and Maritime Security Division within the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...

Science and Technology Directorate.www.dhs.gov
Science & Technology Directorate Borders & Maritime Security DivisionYouTube Duong Nguyet Anh part 1(of 7), English, to Youths, Sydney
/ref> In addition to chemical work, Nguyet Anh Duong participates in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

community activities positively in Southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She kept a close relationship with major general

Viet Xuan Luong Việt Xuan Luong () is a retired United States Army Major general (United States), major general. He is the first American officer promoted to general officer rank who was born in Vietnam. He last served as the Commanding General of United State ...

and musician Nam Lộc. During the 1990s and 2000s, Nguyet Anh and Nam Loc were the two

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

s with the most contributions to the entertainment programs of the Asia Center.

Private life

Nguyet Anh Duong gets married early and has 4 children.

Honours

In 1999 she was awarded the Dr. Arthur E. Bisson Prize for Achievement in Naval Technology and had her name engraved in a plaque on permanent display at the Office of Naval Research. In 2001, she was awarded the

Civilian Meritorious Medal A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civilian engag ...

for superb leadership, technical expertise and significant contributions to the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

in the area of High Performance Explosives. In 2007, she was awarded the

National Security Medal The National Security Medal is a decoration of the United States of America officially established by President Harry S. Truman in Executive Order 10431 of January 19, 1953. The medal was originally awarded to any person, without regard to natio ...

for significant contribution to the nation in activities related to national security.

References

External links

Bomb Lady: Vietnamese American Makes Tools for War on Terror
by ''

Pacific News Service Pacific News Service (PNS) was an American nonprofit alternative news media organization. PNS ceased operations in 2017. The organization was located in Berkeley, California. History PNS was founded in 1969 by historian and sociologist F ...

''
Naval Surface Warfare Center, U.S. Department of Defense
* George F. Will
Anh Duong, Out Of Debt
''Newsweek'', December 17, 2007, Issue.
YouTube
Award of 2007 National Security Medal
YouTube Duong Nguyet Anh part 1(of 7), English, to Youths, Sydney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duong, Nguyet Anh Living people People from Ho Chi Minh City American chemical engineers University of Maryland, College Park alumni Vietnamese emigrants to the United States Year of birth missing (living people)

Biography

Private life

Honours

See also

References

External links