Dr. Tran Hoang Dung, an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the U.S., has been awarded the first prize of the SIU Prize in Computer Science for his outstanding contributions to the field of self-learning real-virtual systems.

The inaugural SIU Prize in Computer Science awards ceremony was held on Saturday evening at Saigon International University (SIU), celebrating the achievements of Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin PhDs globally in the realm of computer science.

Dr. Dung's exceptional doctoral dissertation on testing self-learning real-virtual systems, successfully defended in 2020 at Vanderbilt University in the U.S., won the top honor.

According to the expert panel, his research has established a solid mathematical foundation along with new algorithms for verifying the safety of neural network systems and autonomous systems.

The practical applications of his work are vast, ensuring safety and sustainability for advanced technologies like autonomous vehicles, drones, and deep neural networks, serving as a critical foundation in modern computing.

Dr. Dung has published over 40 papers, many of which have been featured in top-tier journals and conferences in programming languages and logic, formal methods, real-virtual systems, neural networks, and machine learning systems.

His dissertation earned the IEEE Best Doctoral Dissertation Award in the field of Cyber-Physical Systems in 2021.  

Among Dr. Dung's notable achievements are pioneering methods for analyzing real-world systems, developing solutions for safe AI, autonomous systems, and real-time testing.

Moreover, Dr. Dung has led and participated in numerous research projects funded by prestigious organizations like the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. military, and major corporations including Toyota, with a total funding of about US$2.6 million, of which approximately $1.92 million (73 percent) was secured with him as the principal or sole investigator.

Recently, his new research direction on the safety of complex self-learning systems has been nominated for the prestigious NSF CAREER Award, which offers $700,000 and is one of the highest honors for young professors in the U.S., supported by the NSF.

In addition to the first prize, the expert panel awarded one second place, two third places, and three honorable mentions. The total prize money amounted to VND5 billion ($197,083).

In its first season from 2023 to 2024, the SIU Prize in Computer Science attracted over 100 nominations from 19 countries and territories.

The SIU Prize, sponsored by The Group of Asian International Education (GAIE), is valued at approximately VND10 billion ($394,166) allocated equally to the two fields of health sciences and computer science per season, aiming to honor exceptional talent among Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin PhD graduates worldwide.

The first prize includes VND2 billion ($78,833) in cash and an 18K gold SIU Prize medallion.

The second place receives VND1 billion ($39,417) and a silver SIU Prize medallion, while third place awardees receive VND600 million ($23,650) along with a silver SIU Prize medallion.

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