Hoang Thi Than facts for kids

Hoàng Thị Thân, born in 1944 in Phú Cường, South Vietnam, is a truly remarkable person. She made history by becoming the first woman to graduate with a degree in Geological Engineering from Laval University in Canada. She is also known as the first female Vietnamese geological engineer and archaeologist. Her life story includes being a "boat person," a term for people who fled Vietnam by boat after the Vietnam War.

Her Early Life and Education

Hoàng Thị Thân grew up in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). Her father was from Hai Duong and her mother from Nghê An. She attended all-girls schools, including Da Kao elementary and Gia Long high school. After finishing high school in 1964, she started college at the University of Đà Lạt.

In 1965, she received an amazing scholarship from the Canadian government to study at Laval University in Quebec. She chose geology, even though the university only offered geological engineering. She was the only woman in her class, studying alongside 12 young men. It was challenging because she had a very busy schedule and had to learn two new languages, French and English. At that time, Canadian mining laws prevented women from working in mines, so she couldn't do practical training there. Despite these difficulties, she graduated four years later, becoming the first woman to earn a degree from the Department of Geological Engineering at Laval University.

Working as a Geologist and Archaeologist

In June 1969, Hoàng Thị Thân returned to Vietnam. A few months later, she began working at the Geological Survey of Saigon. This organization was part of the Ministry of Economy. She learned a lot from two French expert geologists. One taught her about the geology of Vietnam by taking her on field trips. The other shared his knowledge about studying minerals using X-rays.

One of these experts, Henri Fontaine, later became her thesis director. Her research focused on studying clays found in southern Vietnam and how they could be used in industries. She also studied the history of geological surveys in Indochina and Vietnam. Many small clay deposits, especially kaolin, had been used for a long time to make porcelain, ceramic products, bricks, and roofing tiles. However, no one had really studied their mineral makeup.

Using a special machine called a diffractometer, Hoàng Thị Thân analyzed about a hundred clay samples. These samples came from various places, including ancient river deposits and areas where rocks like granite had weathered over time. She was also the first person in Vietnam to report the existence of bentonite, a special type of clay, in the Di Linh area. She later found more bentonite in other areas like Bảo Lộc and Tuy Hoà. Unfortunately, her studies on these samples were not published due to political events happening at the time.

Hoàng Thị Thân often joined Dr. Henri Fontaine on his archaeological research trips. In 1971, they made an exciting discovery: a site with ancient funeral jars in Phú Hoà. This site was about 500 years old and belonged to the Sa Huynh culture. Studying this site helped her become the first Vietnamese woman archaeologist.

Between 1972 and 1974, she also taught some classes at universities in Huế and Cần Thơ. In 1974, a new organization called the General Agency of Oil-Gas and Mineral Resources was created. She was asked to lead the library and geological museum section of the Centre of Geological Research. This allowed her to continue her X-ray lab work and research.

Life After 1975

After May 1, 1975, when the political situation in South Vietnam changed, Hoàng Thị Thân's life changed too. Like many former government employees, she had to participate in political re-education. She was supposed to go to a camp for a month, but she was allowed to stay and attend a shorter course instead. For the next four years, her work was very limited, though she did take some short field trips with new colleagues.

A New Beginning in France

In early May 1979, with her mother's agreement, Hoàng Thị Thân left her family with just a small bag to board a boat. After four or five days, her boat arrived in southern Malaysia. She quickly became an interpreter and was chosen as the leader for her boat and the entire camp, which had about a thousand "boat people."

About a month and a half later, all the refugees were moved to another camp in Mersing. This camp was very crowded, with about three thousand people in an old football field. One day, some refugees had to leave the camp, which made everyone else very worried.

In July 1979, a French group visited the camp. They were looking for people who had permission to live in France and children whose parents were still in Vietnam. As a boat leader, Hoàng Thị Thân helped them find these people. Even though she didn't ask for anything for herself, the French visitors later offered to take her to France. She was surprised but accepted, even though she had hoped to return to Canada or join her brothers in the United States.

On August 31, 1979, she arrived in Paris with very little: just her flip-flops, her bag, and a $20 US banknote given to her by a Malay officer. In October of that year, she received a scholarship from the University of Paris (Sorbonne) to work on a thesis. She joined the Albert de Lapparent Geological Institute and worked to get its X-ray lab running again.

On March 10, 1980, she started a new job at Cogéma (which later became Areva). Even though France and Canada didn't always recognize each other's university degrees back then, Hoàng Thị Thân was hired as an engineer. She worked as a documentary geologist, preparing weekly reviews of specialized news. Later, she became an analyst for the metal market and then a special advisor for financial strategy and economic studies. She wrote many important reports on various topics.

Her Work Since 2009

After she retired, Hoàng Thị Thân dedicated her time to research. She worked with her former thesis director, Dr. Henri Fontaine, and other geologists from France and Thailand. Together, they published eight scientific papers about the geology of Thailand.