The President of the French Republic has signed a decision to award the title of Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight in the National Order of the French Legion of Honor) to Vietnamese French professor Le Kim Ngoc, according to the announcement at the opening ceremony of the International Neutrino Summer School 2016 opened in Binh Dinh Province on July 18.

The award is a profound recognition of her outstanding contribution to the French science. The Legion of Honor is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 and one of the most prestigious French distinctions.

Professor Le Kim Ngoc has gained many scientific achievements, especillay the “Thin Cell Layer” research work.

She was born in Vinh Long province. Like her husband, professor Tran Thanh Van, she went to France for study of molecule biology. With the extraordinary skills in English, French and Vietnamese, she has ever managed the Secretary Group in these meetings and also helped her husband organize his work schedule as well as the meetings, interviews and working visits of international scientists.

The two professors established an Association in France to help Vietnamese children in 1970. They have returned home to organize many exchange programs between Vietnamese and foreign scientists since 1993.

In 1970, the couple established the Support Association for Vietnamese Children in France and called for donations from the French government and various charity organizations in many countries to set up the SOS Children’s Village in Viet Nam.

In 1993, an organization namely "Rencontres du Viet Nam" (Meeting Viet Nam), led by the two professors as its co-chairmen, made debut and started operation. “Meeting Viet Nam” is the organizer of the most prestigious particle physics conferences, International Physics Science Conference in the country.

Vietnamese French Professors Le Kim Ngoc and Tran Thanh Van were presented prestigious Friendship Order in 2015 for their outstanding contribution the country’s scientific development and childcare in Vietnam.

The International Neutrino Summer School 2016 is co-organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Meeting Vietnam Association at the International Center of Interdisciplinary Science Education (ICISE) in Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh province from July 18-29 with the participation of chairpersons Deborah Harris and Boris Kayser from the  Fermilab National Laboratory.

The program is aimed at both experimentalists and theoreticians, graduate students and early postdocs, and will cover the full range of major topics in neutrino physics. One unique feature of this neutrino school is that students get an opportunity to interact directly with other students and lecturers over a 12-day period to work on current problems facing the field of neutrino physics.

SGGP