‘Nuclear science is a challenge and opportunity for young researchers’

At the 9th Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology for young officials in the atomic energy industry, taking place on October 8 in Hanoi, Dr. Tran Chi Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (Vinatom), said that Vietnam is facing big tasks in the nuclear power program, including investing in Ninh Thuan 1 and Ninh Thuan 2 plants and aiming to develop small module reactor (SMR) technology.

“These are big and difficult tasks in the context of lack of human resources,” he assessed, adding that nuclear science and technology can contribute to solving problems of food, land and water resource management and many applications in industry and medicine.

Meanwhile, nuclear science and technology is a highly demanding field, requiring an interdisciplinary foundation and a long research process to be able to participate in projects. For example, a key engineer operating a factory needs to undergo more than 10 years of training and practice.

“There is a great need for good officials for us to develop the nuclear field in the coming time, so there are also many opportunities,” a Vinatom representative emphasized.

In that context, Vinatom organized the 9th Young Officials Conference, to contribute to the development of young human resources through a forum to exchange research results, share experiences and connect and cooperate. The event gathered 84 presenters – young officials, graduate students and graduate students. In addition to Vinatom’s affiliated units, the conference had the participation of universities, research institutes and hospitals.

44 reports were selected for live presentation to industry experts. Research ranges from nuclear physics and reactor engineering to non-destructive testing and radiation applications. Some combine artificial intelligence, data science with simulation methods to solve practical problems.

For example, reporter Dinh Viet Hai of the University of Natural Sciences – Hanoi National University studied the neutron physical characteristics and combustion process of the VVER-1000 furnace fuel bundle using OpenMC software. The work calculates neutron distribution, power and changes in fuel composition during use, and compares it with international reference data.

In the field of non-destructive testing for industry, materials and manufacturing, reporter Vu Duc Vinh, from the Center for Non-Destructive Evaluation – Vinatom, introduced the process of building capacity and implementing high-energy pipeline inspection at Mong Duong 2 Thermal Power Plant. The program combines non-destructive testing with metal structure assessment, material deterioration monitoring and data creation for maintenance. This experience contributes to creating a foundation for quality control and equipment reliability assessment in nuclear energy projects.

The center also provides technical support to Viettel Aerospace Institute and defense units in testing, designing and mastering weapon production lines.

In the direction of integrating information technology, Dr. Nguyen Duy Quang, from the Institute of Nuclear Research, applied deep learning to distinguish neutron and gamma signals. According to the presented results, the discrimination ability evaluation index increased from about 1.0 with the traditional method to 4.6. Initial results show the potential to use AI to process signals and improve neutron detection capabilities.

In healthcare, reporter Nguyen Van Kien of Hospital K mentioned research on simulation of accelerators for radiotherapy. The model can read data recorded during treatment to calculate the absorbed radiation dose distribution during radiotherapy, aiming to support checking the quality of treatment for each patient.

The young staff conference has been organized by Vinatom every two years since 2010. The event aims to promote scientific research, develop human resources and apply nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes. The Institute’s representative also said that the conference is a forum for connecting nuclear technology research and application units, bringing technology into socio-economic fields.