Professor Hoang Tuy at the Institute of Mathematics in December 2017.

After obtaining a PhD in mathematics in the Soviet Union, he returned to Vietnam and became one of the two founders of Vietnamese mathematics, with the other being Le Van Thiem.

He has published over 100 research papers in prestigious international journals and wrote several books on global optimisation, a branch of applied mathematics and numerical analysis.

Professor Tuy was the first ever recipient of the Constantin Carathéodory Prize of the International Society of Global Optimisation for his pioneering work and fundamental contributions to global optimisation.

In 1996, he also became one of the first people to be awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize, the highest honour of Vietnam, for his research on global optimisation.

Hoang Tuy was born in 1927 into a well-educated family in the central province of Quang Nam. His father was scholar at the Imperial Academy of the Nguyen court while his brothers were also famous professors in other fields.

Professor Tuy was director of the Vietnam Institute of Mathematics from 1980 to 1990.

“What impressed me most with Professor Tuy is that he helped nurture new seeds but did not shade them to prevent them from growing. Vietnamese maths has seen people go beyond him, thanks in part to his contribution”, said Phung Ho Hai, the current director of the maths institute.