Originally from Hanoi, Vietnam, Minh became enthusiastic about science thanks to his parents’ influence as pharmacists. His love for Chemistry and Biology was nurtured in high school through local and international science competitions and his participation in the science club, where he introduced simple demonstrations to kids using colloquial language. Coming to Cornell University (and also the US) for the first time as a rising sophomore, Minh immediately found his passion in chemistry labs where he handled complex chemical transformations. He first worked under Prof. Phillip Milner’s supervision to develop a general reaction condition for the cyclotrimerization of methyl ketones and nitriles, which gave him a wonderful exposure to porous polymers and the field of material sciences. He later moved to the Song Lin group to explore other interesting subfields of chemistry where his project was to synthesize and test the novel aminoxyl-based enantioselective catalysts, which can sometimes be compared to some delicious food (but somewhat more intricate in the preparation process). Empowered with research experiences in material sciences and synthetic organic chemistry, in November 2024, Minh found his second home at MIT to be the Swager lab, which he attributed to the great discussions he had with the group members and Prof. Swager. When he does not have to worry about late-night problem sets, lab work, or teaching commitments, he enjoys hanging out with his friends, trying out new restaurants around the Boston area, and binge-watching Netflix. If you talk to him about delicious food (especially Asian food) or any other exciting topics, he will be too enthusiastic and may forget about everything else.