Nguyen Thanh Vinh (Vinh Nguyen), Associate Professor in the School of Chemistry at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), has been named the most influential researcher in organic chemistry in Australia by The Australian.

Last week, The Australian - the country’s most widely read national newspaper - published its annual 2026 Research Magazine, ranking the most impactful universities and individual researchers of the year. The list is compiled based on citation data from the past five years, focusing on publications in the top 20 journals within each academic field, using Google Scholar metrics.

According to the magazine, Associate Professor Vinh Nguyen was identified as the top contributor in the field of organic chemistry within the broader discipline of Chemical and Materials Sciences. He is currently based at UNSW, ranked among the global top 20 universities by QS in 2026. His research focuses on organocatalysis, aromatic cation activation, natural product synthesis, bioactive compound development, asymmetric synthesis, and pharmaceutical chemistry.

Vinh began his independent research career in 2013 at Curtin University in Perth. In 2015, he joined UNSW as a lecturer and ARC DECRA research fellow. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 2018 and awarded the prestigious ARC Future Fellowship in 2019. He became an associate professor in 2021.

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Associate Professor Nguyen Thanh Vinh. Photo: University of New South Wales

In Vietnam, Nguyen Thanh Vinh is widely known as the runner-up of the inaugural season of the national TV quiz competition Duong len dinh Olympia (2000). He was also a silver medalist at the International Chemistry Olympiad and made a cameo appearance in the cult TV drama Phia truoc la bau troi. He began studying Industrial Chemistry at UNSW in 2001 and later earned a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the Australian National University.

In addition to Nguyen Thanh Vinh, The Australian recognized five other influential Vietnamese-origin researchers across various disciplines:

Dinh Phan, Associate Professor at La Trobe Business School (La Trobe University), was named the most influential researcher in international business. He previously taught at Deakin University, Monash University, and Taylor’s University.

Sara Quach Thaichon, Associate Professor of Marketing at Griffith University, topped the field of marketing research. Her work began with studies on brand loyalty and business-customer relationships.

Thuc Duy Le, Associate Professor at the University of South Australia, was recognized in the field of bioinformatics and computational biology. He develops AI methodologies based on causal models, with applications in a wide range of biological problems.

Kiet Tieu, Professor at the University of Wollongong, was named the most influential researcher in mechanical engineering. He earned his bachelor’s and PhD degrees from the University of Western Australia and has worked at Wollongong continuously since 1982.

Bui Minh, Associate Professor at the School of Computing, Australian National University, leads in evolutionary biology. He graduated from Vietnam National University, Hanoi (2001), received a master’s degree from the University of Freiburg, Germany (2005), and earned his PhD in bioinformatics from the University of Vienna, Austria (2009).

Hoang Linh