Ms Mai graduated from a university in the former Soviet Union and is now Vice Director of the Institute of Information Technology under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. She was recognized for her major contributions to pattern recognition and knowledge engineering.

Though she has won many awards and certificates of merit, Mai said she was still very moved to receive this significant award. She said she was really inspired by the award which was named after the famous Russian mathematician.

Ms Loc is Head of the Entomological Ecology and Biological Prevention Section under the Mekong Delta Rice Institute. Her name is associated with many technological research projects in cultivation, vegetation protection, and agricultural biotechnology that are aimed at increasing productivity, ensuring food safety, and protecting the community health and the ecology for sustainable agriculture.

The annual Kovalevskaya awards honour outstanding women and collectives in both scientific research and application.

(VOV)