Prof. Dr Lê Văn Thưởng

Biography

Mr Lê Văn Thưởng graduated in bridge and road engineering from the Tangshan Railway Institute (China). At the end of 1963 he went to the Soviet Union as a PhD candidate and defended his Candidate of Sciences thesis in 1966; in 1984 he received the title of Professor. His main fields were reinforced concrete structures and bridges, bridge construction technology, the design of underground structures, and the strengthening and repair of tunnels and bridges; while studying in the Soviet Union, he and Mr Trần Bình were among the first to identify a new research direction: the use of computers in bridge design calculations.

He led the design of the Quảng Ninh tunnel (1973), took part in the foundation treatment and the organisation of the construction of the Đakrông cable-stayed bridge (1975), sat on the State acceptance councils for Thăng Long Bridge (1984) and Chương Dương Bridge (1986) and on the subcommittee that investigated the failure of Rào Bridge (Hải Phòng), led the ministry-level project “Construction technology for long-span reinforced concrete bridges” (1992⁠–⁠1993), led the design of the strengthening and repair of Tunnel No. 8 at Gia Phú Pass on the Thống Nhất (North–South) railway (1994) and took part in the design of the strengthening and restoration of Nam Ô railway bridge, Đà Nẵng (1997). He wrote the Department’s first textbooks, such as Reinforced Concrete Structures (1959) and Reinforced Concrete Bridges, co-wrote the textbook Bridge Construction (1968) and edited the book Fundamentals of Underground Structure Design (1981). He was on the list of supervisors for the Department’s first intake of full-time PhD candidates (1978) and supervised the student Hoàng Thanh Hải (35th intake), who won first prize at the national competition for the best graduation projects (now the Loa Thành Award).

In 1958 he joined the Bridge Section of the Department of Structures, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, as its first staff member; when the Department of Bridges and Tunnels was founded (October 1959), he became its head. According to the Department’s staff list, he worked in the Department from 1958 to 1997. At the end of 1966, having defended his thesis, he returned to head the Department again (until 1983) and to serve as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Bridges and Roads. In 1972 he spent a one-month internship in France. In 1976 he was appointed Vice-Rector of the National University of Civil Engineering; in 1983 he became Director of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Vocational Education; in 1987⁠–⁠1991 he worked as an education expert at the University of Chlef (Algeria). He was awarded the titles of Emulation Fighter and Meritorious Teacher (1992).

Education

• Engineer's degree: Bridge and Road Engineering, Tangshan Railway Institute, China
• PhD (Candidate of Sciences): Defended in the Soviet Union. 1966
• Professor: Title conferred in 1984

Main research interests

• Reinforced concrete structures and bridges
• Bridge construction technology, long-span reinforced concrete bridges
• Design of underground structures and tunnels
• Strengthening and repair of tunnels and bridges
• Computer applications in bridge design calculations

Career

Textbooks and books

1. Cơ sở thiết kế công trình ngầm (1981)
2. Thi công cầu (1968)
3. Xây dựng cầu (1961)
4. Cầu bê tông cốt thép (1960)
5. Kết cấu bê tông cốt thép (1959)

Titles as published, in Vietnamese; each links to its entry on the Textbooks and books page.