Trịnh Xuân Thuận (born August 20, 1948) is a

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese- American astrophysicist.

Biography

Trịnh Xuân Thuận was born in

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 ...

. He completed his B.S. at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

, and his Ph.D. at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. He has taught

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where he is a professor, since 1976, and is also a research associate at the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris. He was a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion. Thuận was the recipient of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Kalinga Prize The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is an award given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in popularization of science, presenting scientific ideas to lay people. It was created in 1952, following a donation from Biju Patnaik, Founder ...

in 2009 for his work in popularizing science. He received the Kalinga chair award at the 99th Indian Science Congress at

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

. In 2012, he was awarded the

Prix mondial Cino Del Duca The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is an international literary award from France. With an award amount of , it is among the richest literary prizes. Origins and operations It was established in 1969 in France by French b ...

from the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

. This prize recognizes authors whose work, literary or scientific, constitutes a message of modern humanism. In 2014 Thuận was inducted into the French

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

as a Chevalier.University of Virginia Astronomer Trinh Thuan Awarded French Legion of Honor - University of Virginia News 2014
/ref> Thuận's areas of interest are

extragalactic astronomy Extragalactic astronomy is the branch of astronomy concerned with objects outside the Milky Way galaxy. In other words, it is the study of all astronomical objects which are not covered by galactic astronomy. The closest objects in extragalactic ...

and

galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...

formation. His research has focused on the evolution of

galaxies A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...

and the chemical composition of the universe, and on compact blue

dwarf galaxies A dwarf galaxy is a small galaxy composed of about 1000 up to several billion stars, as compared to the Milky Way's 200–400 billion stars. The Large Magellanic Cloud, which closely orbits the Milky Way and contains over 30 billion stars, is so ...

Books for general readers

* 1992. ''Le destin de l'univers : Le big bang, et après'', collection «

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

» (nº 151), série Sciences et techniques. Paris: Éditions Gallimard. ** 1993. UK edition – ''The Changing Universe: Big Bang and After'', '

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...

' series. London: Thames & Hudson. ** 1993. US edition – ''The Birth of the Universe: The Big Bang and After'', "

Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places United States * Abrams, Wisconsin, a town * Abrams (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Abrams Mountain, Colorado * Abr ...

" series. New York: Harry N. Abrams. * 1994. ''The Secret Melody''. * 2000. ''Chaos and Harmony''. * 2001. ''The Quantum and the Lotus''. (with Matthieu Ricard) * 2008. ''Voyage au cœur de la lumière'', collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 527), série Sciences et techniques. Paris: Éditions Gallimard.

References

*Trinh Xuan Thuan and Axel Reisinger, (2000). ''Chaos and Harmony: Perspectives on Scientific Revolutions of the 20th Century'', Oxford University Press.

External links

Trinhxuanthuan.frwebsite Trịnh Xuân Thuận
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trinh, Xuan Thuan 1948 births Living people People from Hanoi Vietnamese emigrants to the United States 20th-century American astronomers Writers of Vietnamese descent American cosmologists Members of the International Society for Science and Religion Kalinga Prize recipients American male writers 20th-century American physicists American writers in French French-language writers from Vietnam 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers American scientists of Asian descent