Obituary – Dr. Duong Van Chin (Vietnam)

Nimal Chandrasena

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Abstract:

A former Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society (APWSS) President, Dr. Duong Van Chin, passed away recently. He was the President of APWSS in 2005 and Vice President of the Weed Science Society of Vietnam when he organized the 20th APWSS Conference. The 20th Conference was held at the Rex Hotel in Ho Chi Ming City during 7-11 November 2005. The central theme of the highly successful Conference was ‘Six Decades of Weed Science Since the Discovery of 2,4-D (1945-2005)’. The Conference attracted many international participants and was considered one of the best-organized events. The Editor recalls attending the Conference and appreciating the effort to publish full peer-reviewed articles, including the Proceedings (740 pages). Dr. Duong served in the Weed Science & Farming Systems Department at the famous Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI), Omon Cantho, Vietnam. As evident in the long list of research articles Dr. Duong produced, in collaboration with others, he spent most of his research career on rice weeds and their management, rice herbicides, allelopathy as a tool in weed management, biological weed control and diversification of farming systems to improve productivity. Some of Dr. Duong’s most significant publications can be accessed via Researchgate (https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Duong-Van-Chin-78834325). Dr. Duong also had very long collaborative partnerships with Japanese weed scientists, especially Dr. Hisashi Kato-Noguchi (see photo below) and his team. He also established productive collaborations with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), as reported in the IWSS Newsletter (Sep 2011), USA and Australian weed researchers. The Editor is aware that these collaborations made highly significant contributions to the development of weed science in the APWSS region. In 2010, Dr. Duong wrote a crucial national report (book) on 50 Years of weed research in Vietnam. His partner in that effort was Dr. Ho Le Thi, the current Vice President of APWSS) 1. The Journal and our Society will miss an outstanding researcher, a founder of weed research in Vietnam and a mentor to many weed scientists in Vietnam, the APWSS region and beyond. As we say goodbye, we express our deep and heartfelt condolences to his family, students and the Weed Science Society of Vietnam.