Vietnamese students took home mathematics and science awards at the Search for SEAMEO Young Scientists (SSYS) contest held in Penang, Malaysia from March 3-7.

Le Ngoc Thu Thao and Ngo Quang Thai from the Hanoi Experimental Secondary School won the second prize with the mathematical project “ Making a tropical storm & tropical depression calendar for northern and central provinces in Vietnam”.

Meanwhile, Mai Dieu Quynh and Nguyen Hoang Tung from Viet Duc High School in Hanoi were awarded the third prize with the scientific project “A study of laccase enzyme for application towards sustainable development”.

Thao and Thai’s project was made based on statistics of storms and tropical pressures that hit the north and central regions in Vietnam from 2004-2013, thus predicting the most risky months and localities for bad weather throughout the year.

According to Do Duc Lan from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Education, the project is expected to help outline plans to deal with storms and tropical pressure in Vietnam in the future .

Meanwhile, Quynh and Tung presented their study on laccase enzyme, which is discharged from mushrooms planted on rotten straw. The enzyme is an important active element in pollution treatment, especially for agricultural wasted materials and waste water.

The ninth event of its kind, the contest, themed “Reducing risks of disasters for sustainable development”, attracted 40 entries from students from all ASEAN member countries, excepting Myanmar.

Organised every two years since 1997, the contest aims to discover bright young scientists from Southeast Asian countries. It also contributes to promoting the science research movement at school in the countries.-VNA