Le Thu Minh

Former VAS student accelerates her academic journey in the U.S., earns NASA-Funded PhD research grant, and presents at leading international space science conferences

Le Thu Minh began building her academic foundation during her secondary school years at Vietnam Australia International School (VAS), where a strong bilingual education and an internationally oriented Mathematics and Science curriculum nurtured her analytical thinking, logical reasoning, and passion for scientific discovery. Thanks to her outstanding academic performance, she advanced directly from Grade 9 at VAS to Grade 11 at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Illinois, USA. After completing Grade 11 with distinction, she received a special scholarship to continue Grade 12 and ultimately graduated from high school before turning 17. Her exceptional achievements also earned her the prestigious Presidential Academic Award in the United States.

Thu Minh later received a scholarship to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech), one of America's leading universities for science and engineering. Throughout her undergraduate studies, she built an impressive academic and leadership profile through numerous achievements, including:

• Membership in Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, the oldest and largest honor society recognizing outstanding first-year university students in the United States.
• President of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) at Florida Tech, an international non-profit student organization dedicated to advancing space exploration.
• Research Assistant at Florida Tech's Department of Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences from 2018 to 2021. In 2021, she received the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Poster Award in Physics and Space Science at the Florida Academy of Sciences for her research on Starspot Imaging of B-type Stars. She also contributed to a research project on 3D Simulation of Active Galactic Nuclei Jets between 2019 and 2020.
• Co-author of an award-winning proposal in NASA L'SPACE's Lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Proposal Writing and Evaluation Academy in 2020.
• Graduated with Honors with a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy and Astrophysics in 2021.
• Research Associate with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, where she investigated the possibility of past or present life throughout the history of Mars.

Before pursuing graduate studies, Thu Minh spent nearly two years gaining valuable industry experience as an Engineering Project Manager at Jaycon Systems, a Florida-based company that designs and manufactures advanced electronic systems for NASA and leading global corporations, including Tesla, Intel, Ford, and Universal.

In 2023, she was admitted to the PhD program in Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, one of the world's top-ranked universities according to the QS World University Rankings 2026. She currently conducts research at the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI), where scientists investigate the behavior of materials under extreme conditions to solve complex engineering challenges with applications ranging from planetary science to future space exploration.

Her research on asteroid impact processes has been presented at numerous prestigious international conferences, including the 55th and 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas, MACH Conference 2024 and 2025 in Maryland, the 17th Hypervelocity Impact Symposium in Tsukuba, Japan, the 75th International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy, and the 2026 Spring Meeting of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium in Washington, D.C. and Laurel, Maryland. The consortium was established by NASA to support the Artemis program.

In 2024, Thu Minh was honored as an IAF Emerging Space Leader by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), recognizing outstanding students and young professionals with exceptional potential to shape the future of space research, engineering, and policy. She was also appointed to the IAF Workforce Development and Young Professionals Programme Committee for the 2024 to 2027 term.

Beginning in 2025, her doctoral research on asteroid impacts has been funded through NASA's prestigious Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) program, which supports innovative research projects designed and led by graduate students.

These remarkable achievements continue to fuel Thu Minh's aspiration to pursue cutting-edge research and contribute to future space exploration missions.

VAS is proud to have been part of her journey, helping cultivate the academic excellence, confidence, passion, and resilience that continue to define her success. These values are perfectly reflected in her favorite Latin motto: "Per aspera ad astra" – Through hardships to the stars.