Nguyet Anh Duong

Nguyet Anh Duong (Dương Nguyệt Ánh; born 1960 in Saigon) is a Vietnamese American scientist responsible for the creation of the Thermobaric weapon.[1]

Nguyet Anh Duong
Born
Saigon, South Vietnam

She is noted as the "Scientist who developed the bomb that ended the war with Afghanistan" by the Vietnamese American National Gala.[2]

Biography

Early life

During the Vietnam War, her family left their homeland on April 28, 1975, right before the Fall of Saigon

Becoming one of the Vietnamese boat people, they eventually arrived in the Philippines. From there, they were assigned to a refugee camp. Her family then contacted the Embassy of the United States, Manila and were given political asylum in the United States. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with both a B.S. degree in chemical engineering and a B.S. degree in computer science.[1]

Career

In 1983 she started working as a chemical engineer at the Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center. From 1991-1999, she managed all navy basic, exploratory research and advanced development programs in high explosives. She also served as the U.S. Navy focus point for explosives and the transition of Navy explosives into weapon systems, providing consultation to government/military, industries and allied nations. From 1999-2002, she managed all NSWC Indian Head's technical programs in Explosives and Undersea Weapons, from concept through engineering development to production and demilitarization.

She successfully assembled and led a team of scientists and engineers to develop a thermobaric bomb. They then proceeded to limited production and delivery to the Air Force, all in an unprecedented period of 67 days.[3]

Nguyet Anh successfully led the development and transition of a total of 10 high-performing explosives into 18 different weapons in the past 12 years, which is an unprecedented record of its kind. She has served as a U.S. Delegate at the NATO AC310 Subgroup I for Explosives, and chairman/member of many national and international Panels/Technical Steering Groups.

Since 2002, Nguyet Anh has been the director of Science and Technology of Naval Surface Warfare Center, U.S. Department of Defense, where she was responsible for Indian Head's overall technical investment strategies, guiding and overseeing research and development programs in all areas of science and technology and focusing these efforts toward the creation of future weapon generations for the United States.

Since 2009, Duong has been the director for the Borders and Maritime Security Division within the United States Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate.[4][5]

Awards

In 1999 she was awarded the Dr. Arthur E. Bisson Prize for Achievement in Naval Technology and had her name engraved in a plaque on permanent display at the Office of Naval Research. In 2001, she was awarded the Civilian Meritorious Medal for superb leadership, technical expertise and significant contributions to the Department of Defense in the area of High Performance Explosives. In 2007, she was awarded the National Security Medal for significant contribution to the nation in activities related to national security.[3]

References
  1. news.pacificnews.org Archived 2005-10-25 at the Wayback Machine Dec 8, 2003 Bomb Lady
  2. "Great Facts & Trivia of Vietnamese Americans:Science & Technology". Vietnamese American National Gala. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  3. YouTube Award of 2007 National Security Medal
  4. www.dhs.gov Science & Technology Directorate Borders & Maritime Security Division
  5. YouTube Duong Nguyet Anh part 1(of 7), English, to Youths, Sydney
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