The Faculty of Technology launches international project: Nano-Assisted Bioremediation of diffused dioxins in soil and sediment

On May 10 - 11, the Faculty of Technology of Van Lang University organized a workshop to launch the Project "Nano-Assisted bioremediation of diffused dioxins in soil and sediment" - a joint research project between Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT, Thailand), and Asian Institute of Technology in Vietnam (AITVN).

From 2021 to 2023, the Faculty of Technology of Van Lang University is affiliated with Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT, Thailand), and the Asian Institute of Technology in Vietnam (AITVN) to implement the project "Nano-Assisted bioremediation of diffused dioxins in soil and sediment" related to the treatment of Dioxin residues in soil. The project is funded by USAID. 

The conference was held at Campus 3 of Van Lang University with the direct participation of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi My Dieu - President of Van Lang University, board of deans and lecturers of the Faculty of Technology, representatives of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, USAID representative in Vietnam. On the part of the online attending council, there was the presence of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, USAID Vietnam (Hanoi Office), Can Tho University, Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), Nation Academic of Science (USA), the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Dong Nai province, People's Committee of Bien Hoa City. 

At the project kick-off meeting, Van Lang University and co-organizers introduced stakeholders in the project, briefly introduced research methods from previously conducted related projects, present the research method applied in the project. 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Xuan Thanh from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology raised discussion ideas for projects presented within the framework of the conference. 

The first seminar (May 10, 2021) was titled "Joint Kick-off Meeting of three PEER Cycle 9 Projects in Vietnam", discussing the following projects:

• Project 1 “Nano-assisted bioremediation of diffused dioxins in soil and sediment” - AIT/AITVN (Nguyen Kim Oanh)
• Project 2 “Biochar facilitates bioremediation: a green solution for dioxin/furan pollution”- HCMUT (Dang Thuong Huyen)
• Project 3 "Developing a framework for the identification of soil limiting factors for bioremediation of dioxin compounds in contaminated soils of Vietnam" - Can Tho University (Nguyen Khoi Nghia) 

After overviewing the projects, the council directly discussed and made comments with relevant units.

The conference continues to take place on the morning of May 11, 2021 with contents including:

• Presenting the methodology and work plan for year 1 from VLU: Seeding and enrichment of microbes and experiment set-up.
• Presenting the method and work plan for year 1 from HCMUT: Nano-particle coating and experiment set up.
• Presenting the method and work plan for year 1 from AITVN: Overall project management, support for VLU and HCMUT in the experiment set-up and monitoring.

In addition, the project council also discussed project management issues such as annual reports, codes, NAS conferences and publications, identifying laboratories for analyzing samples and QA/QC data and accouncing results connecting with relevant entities, popular media platforms, etc. 

Mai Thy
Photo: Lee Minh Phuong