On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and France and the 90th birthday of Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh (September 5, 2023), the Publishing House of the University of Education published the book "Gr-Catégories" including the full text of the thesis of the first female doctor of mathematics in Vietnam.
Works of great scientific value
The original handwritten copy was brought back to Vietnam after half a century of wandering thanks to the help of Professor Nguyen Tien Dung, University of Toulouse (France) and Dr. Jean Malgoire, the last graduate student of famous mathematics professor Alexander Grothendieck, who was also the teacher of Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh.
A book about the thesis of Vietnam's first female doctor of mathematics - Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh - published by the Pedagogical University Publishing House (Photo provided by the Pedagogical University Publishing House)
The representative of the University of Education Publishing House said that the doctoral thesis of Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh is a very valuable scientific work, having a great influence on the later development of the "n-Categories" theory and its application in Topological Physics. This work not only attracts the attention of the international mathematical community because of its rich content and important scientific results, but also attracts readers interested in the life and career of Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh. Another important point is that this thesis has never been published although there are many copies of the thesis handwritten by the author in French stored in the libraries of many universities in France and some European countries.
"The policy of publishing this book by the University of Education Publishing House is to respect the original text, keeping intact the entire content of the author's handwritten French doctoral thesis (1975)" - the University of Education Publishing House said.
In addition to the full text of the author's doctoral thesis, the book also includes an introduction by Professor Ha Huy Khoi, former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Mathematics. According to Professor Ha Huy Khoi, Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh conducted scientific research at a very high level in conditions of isolation from the international community, lacking information, documents, and even the most basic means such as pens, paper, and light.
In particular, the reference section of the thesis has only 16 names, most of which are books, not articles. This proves that the results obtained in the thesis are not an extension of existing results but a beginning. Meanwhile, in the introduction titled "Hoang Xuan Sinh's Thesis: Categorizing Group Theory", Professor John C. Baez, a famous scientist in the field of mathematics and computational science, assessed that Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh's results have "shed light on the problem of studying homotopy types of relatively "beautiful" spaces, such as CW-complexes".
The book also provides many handwritten photos of the Introduction section of the author's doctoral thesis in French and an appendix of some photos related to the activities of Professor - People's Teacher Hoang Xuan Sinh.
With a print run of 1,000 copies for the first edition, the book will be provided to training faculties and mathematics research institutes in the country and internationally. In the coming time, the book will be sent to libraries in France and other countries.
A life devoted to education
Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh was born on September 5, 1933, in Cot village, Tu Liem (now Cau Giay), Hanoi. In 1951, after graduating with a Baccalaureate degree from Chu Van An High School (Hanoi), majoring in languages, English and French, Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh was taken by her uncle to France to continue her high school education, then to university, majoring in mathematics. After graduating from Toulouse University (France), she registered to study for a master's degree in mathematics, a difficult degree at that time. In France, only descendants of the two prestigious families Marie Curie and Langevin dared to take the exam and had a chance to pass. But with determination, the Vietnamese girl achieved this rare feat at the age of 26.
When the future of science in France was wide open, she returned to her homeland at the call of her country. Upon returning home, she chose to teach at Hanoi Pedagogical University. During the war against the US, she had to evacuate, she taught and did her doctoral thesis, under the guidance of the 20th century mathematical genius Alexander Grothendieck. Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh once shared that during the 8 years of working on her thesis, she only received 2-3 letters from her teacher, due to the influence of the war.
Before going to Paris to defend her thesis, she presented her research results at the 1971 Vietnam Mathematics Congress in Hanoi and the 1974 World Mathematics Congress held in Vancouver (Canada). In May 1975, Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh went to Paris and successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the University of Paris 7 in front of many professors, doctors, French scientists and overseas Vietnamese intellectuals. She confided that it was the most glorious and happiest day of her life. Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh was the first foreign woman to come to Paris to successfully defend her national doctoral thesis in mathematics.
In 1988, Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh received a letter from Professor Bui Trong Lieu sent from France inviting her and four other famous scientists across the country to establish a private university to overcome the shortcomings of public universities in the current situation. Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh went to see General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh, asking to open a university but did not ask for state money and was approved by the General Secretary. After many efforts, on December 15, 1988, she received a license to establish the Thang Long Private University Center (now Thang Long University).
Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh has been involved in the entire process of training and scientific research from the time he started teaching until his retirement at Hanoi National University of Education.
She has received many noble titles such as the First Class Labor Medal and the Academic Palm Medal from the French Government for her great contributions to the development and scientific research cooperation between France and Vietnam...
With high prestige in all aspects, she has held many important positions in organizations such as: Vice President of the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, term VI (2004), Vice President of the Vietnam Women's Union, Member of the National Council for Science and Technology Policy, Member of the National Education Council, Member of the Compilation Council of the Vietnamese Encyclopedia Dictionary...
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