Her Stem Space

In an interview for Viet Diaspora Stories, Nguyệt Ánh says, “The Duong family has had many generations of nationally recognized scholars and distinguished public servants, dating all the way back to the 19th century. At one point, my grandfather and his oldest son and grandson all served side by side under the same king. So the king wrote a 16-word poem to congratulate the Duong family for this outstanding achievement, and my grandfather took those 16 words and turned them into middle names for the next 16 Duong generations. And his intention was for us to continue to strive for excellence, but most importantly, to remember to use our God-given talents to serve our country, not for personal gains, but to serve our country and people.” With this reminder of her grandfather’s faith in his descendants, Nguyệt Ánh Dương vowed to honor the memory of the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers that died fighting for their country, the countless Americans that died fighting for the people of Vietnam.

Nguyệt Ánh’s first job after she graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with two B.S. degrees—the first in chemical engineering and the other in computer science—was at the Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center. She wanted to develop something for the U.S. military, so when the country’s lack of a thermobaric weapon was identified, Nguyệt Ánh Dương stepped out to introduce her research and her vision, and she was approved to carry out a 3-year long, $65 million project. Thermobaric weapons had an advantage over typical explosives that created fragments, because they were able to penetrate barriers, unlike fragments, and could reach enemy hideouts located in caves, tunnels, or even underground. However, the tragedy of September 11, 2001 struck almost immediately after Nguyệt Ánh’s project was approved, sending the nation into a state of chaos, panic, and fear. The U.S. military needed the strength of thermobaric technology more than it ever had before, and the 3 years Nguyệt Ánh had been promised to develop her weapon was reduced to “as soon as possible”. Nguyệt Ánh was instructed to take her best guess and produce the thermobaric weapon as quickly as she could. Despite the amount of pressure placed on her, she was not discouraged, and set to work alongside a team of over 100 people. Night and day, Nguyệt Ánh’s team toiled away, and within an unprecedented timeframe of 67 days, they had created concepts, conducted tests, built 11 weapons, and sent them all to Afghanistan.

Nguyệt Ánh Dương’s work proved to be instrumental in the War in Afghanistan, and she became the director of the Science and Technology of Naval Surface Warfare Center for the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as the Border and Maritime Security Division under the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She was awarded the Dr. Arthur E. Bisson Prize for Achievement in Naval Technology in 1999, and, for her contributions to the U.S. in the development of the thermobaric weapon, Nguyệt Ánh received the Civilian Meritorious Medal in 2001 and the National Security Medal in 2007. Today, she serves as an inspiration to Asian-Americans and women in STEM worldwide for her dedication, hard work, and leadership. Throughout her career, Nguyệt Ánh Dương has faced discrimination and prejudice for her gender and race, but she persevered through it all to showcase her genuine talent, something so brilliant and so unique that it cannot be denied. For Viet Diaspora Stories, Nguyệt Ánh Dương shares a piece of advice: attitude comes first, then aptitude, and finally, altitude, or success. With this mindset, Nguyệt Ánh Dương has gone down in history not only as an incredible scientific mind, but as one of the most influential Vietnamese-Americans to ever live.

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My name is Sophia Duong, and I am an incoming sophomore at Frontier STEM Academy! As the Her Stem Space’s head blog editor, my mission is to inspire girls in STEM by sharing the impact women have had on the world we know today.