VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese Professor, Ngo Bao Chau, who has won the Fields Medal, the pride of Vietnamese nation, in the talk with local press agencies, said that he has got many things and he would like to give gifts to others instead of receiving gifts from others.

Professor Ngo Bao Chau (left) and Mr Dao Hong Tuyen
On August 30, Professor Ngo Bao Chau, on behalf of the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, received the villa worth three million dollars – a gift from Dao Hong Tuyen, a well-known Vietnamese businessman, Chair of the Tuan Chau Group, who is called the “king of Tuan Chau island”.

The noteworthy thing is that Chau received the gift for the institute after he refused a gift – also a villa worth millions of dollars - from the same businessman, who once offered to him to express the businessman’s admiration to the outstanding talent.

In August 2010, after receiving the Fields Medal, Mr Dao Hong Tuyen once expressed his good attention to give a multi-billion dollar worth of villa to you, but you then refused the gift. You might have to think a lot of before deciding to receive the villa this time, for the advanced mathematics institute?

When Mr Tuyen told me that he would like to give the villa to me as a gift, I thought much about this and I believed that this is a very sincere heart. However, I think that I have got many things already, from the good family education conditions, learning and working conditions; therefore, I do not want to receive any more gifts from others. I would rather give gifts to others than receiving gifts from others.

However, I believe that the personal gift of Mr Dao Hong Tuyen to the advanced mathematics institute has much significance. I need to say thanks for the significant gift for the research institute.

Do you think the 3-million dollar villa has more spiritual or material significance?

You should have posed the question directly to Mr Dao Hong Tuyen. As for me, the gift has both the spiritual and material significance. The material value of the villa is undeniable. Meanwhile, the spiritual significance here is that the previous generation, a businessman, who was also a soldier, gave the gift made of the efforts and his sweat, to scientists. I deeply appreciate this.

How will the Institute for Advanced Studies in Mathematics use the 3-million dollar villa on Tuan Chau Island?

The villa is really a valuable gift for the institute which will be used to serve the operation of the institute. It will serve as the house for foreign and domestic scientists to stay, work and relax. Besides, we are considering using the villa as the place where regular meetings and small workshops in mathematics and other sciences will take place.

What will happen if the advanced mathematics institute gets three million dollars which is equal to the value of the villa? How will the institute use the sum of money?

The State has initiated the national program on developing mathematics with a big budget, about 600 billion dong which will be spent within 10 years. This is really a big sum of money if compared with the current conditions of the country. The big difficulty for the mathematics institute is the way of spending money. But I hope the problem would be settled soon.

You plan to spend three months a year in Vietnam. Will the timetable upset your working plans?

I will spend three months on working in Vietnam. Besides the work of organizing activities at the institute, I will also join the scientific research works with other researchers.

I do not have to be present at the institute all the time. I will participate at the main meetings to build up the work plans for the institute, while the management work will be undertaken by Professor Le Tuan Hoa.

What is the thing Vietnam’s mathematics still lack?

Confidence is the thing that Vietnam’s mathematics is lacking. Therefore, my duty is to use my personal prestige to restore the confidence. We cannot live without confidence.

Source: VTC