탐 트란 교수 (에너지자원공학과)

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I’m Enjoying My New Life at CNU!
By Choi Hye-seon, Student Editor
You may have seen many foreigners on campus at Chonnam National University (CNU). Among them, you could have passed by or encountered Tam Tran, professor of the Department of Energy and Resources Engineering. On December 1st last year he became the second foreigner employed as a full-time professor at CNU. He is from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), in Sydney, Australia and has received much worldwide attention by achieving a lot of research results in the field of collection and application of natural resources.
Tam Tran, Professor, Dept. of Energy and Resource Engineering
 
He has been working with Kim Myong-jun, professor of the Department of Energy and Resources Engineering since 1999 when Prof. Kim came back to CNU after receiving his doctor’s degree at the UNSW. Prof. Tam Tran was Prof. Kim’s PhD supervisor at that time and used to come to CNU once every six months to participate in Research and Development projects and short training courses. After spending 20 years at the UNSW and before that, seven years working for BrokenHillProprietary, he decided to take an early break from the world of academia in Australia to come back and work in Asia, before his retirement. He came to Australia as a sponsored student from Vietnam in 1972. I guess he has always had this ‘coming home’ idea in the back of his mind.
Prof. Tam Tran said, “Asia, especially Korea, is flourishing and I have enjoyed being part of the lively atmosphere of doing new things and developing new ideas here. I am honored to be a part of the new globalization drive at Korean universities. I am confident that one day, CNU will be the preferred destination for many students and academics from around the world to come and spend their exchange or internship time here. As a matter of fact, as part of my extra-curricular work, I have been trying to make arrangements for students from Vietnam and Singapore to spend their internship programs here.”
He taught in Australia, Singapore and Vietnam before arriving at CNU. He said, “Young students are always idealistic and enthusiastic, no matter where they come from. CNU is an ideal place where this atmosphere is nurtured as with other universities. I am trying to instill a more active atmosphere in class, where students should participate more in the discussion. I guess I can look back to my student days in Vietnam and understand the feeling of those who are afraid to ask questions in class. We in an eastern society will never question our teacher’s teachings. But advances in knowledge always come from lateral thinking originated from those silly questions by students who might be afraid that their friends would say about them in class.”
He has been working with colleagues here in the areas related to processing of natural resources, minerals and renewable energy materialsProf. Tam Tran said, “My wish is to be involved in some major international collaboration projects, training or R&D, linking CNU, Korea with my colleagues in Australia, Vietnam and Singapore in my areas of interest: energy materials, renewable energy development.
I could not meet him face to face so I interviewed him via e-mail, but I could feel that he is considerate and very kind. I hope that he keeps enjoying his life and teaching at CNU and that he can accomplish a great deal of research.
저작권자 © Chonnam Tribune 무단전재 및 재배포 금지