A Vietnamese environmentalist has won a prize for young Asian biotechnologists awarded by Japan’s Society for Biotechnology (SBJ).

Dr. Nguyen Nhu Sang (L) and Professor Michihiko Ike of Japan\'s Osaka University

Dr. Nguyen Nhu Sang, a lecturer at the Institute for Environment and Resources, Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City, will receive the award this Monday during the 63rd SBJ Annual Meeting in Tokyo.

The first Vietnamese to receive the annual award, initiated in 2002, Sang is known for his research into wastes, wastewater and factors in environmental management that have been published in international journals like the Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering.

In fact, since he graduated from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in 1995 as an environmental technologist, Sang has spent most of his time studying landfills, and how to use microorganisms to accelerate waste’s decomposition at landfills.

In 2005 he won a scholarship from the Ministry of Education and Training to take a three-year doctorate course at Japan’s Osaka University.

Under the instruction of Professor Michihiko Ike, Sang completed his course with excellent performance including four research articles published in famous scientific journals, the newspaper said.

The Japanese professor nominated Sang for the award without telling him in advance, it added.

Among his articles, the one on the “Effects of intermittent and continuous aeration on accelerative stabilization and microbial population dynamics in landfill bioreactors” played an important role in helping him won the award.