She passed away after a journey of persistent dedication to science, education and the cause of Vietnamese women's advancement. Her life is a vivid testament to the intelligence, determination and virtue of Vietnamese female intellectuals in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Prof. Dr. Phan Luong Cam was born in 1943 in Thua Thien Hue, growing up in a period of great turmoil in the country. Since the early 1960s, she has been an outstanding student in the field of engineering - a rare choice for women at that time. She soon revealed her passion for electrochemistry, a branch of science that is both complex in theory and highly applicable in industry and engineering.

In 1965, she was retained as a lecturer at Hanoi University of Science and Technology – one of the leading engineering training institutions in the North. In 1968, when the war against the US was at its peak, she was sent by the State to study in the Soviet Union. This was a major turning point, helping her access advanced science, laying the foundation for her future contributions.

After successfully defending her doctoral thesis in Electrochemistry - Metal Corrosion, she returned to Vietnam in early 1973 and continued teaching and researching at Hanoi University of Science and Technology until her retirement.

Ms. Phan Luong Cam became the first female professor at Hanoi University of Science and Technology – a symbolic milestone for the presence and advancement of women in the field of science and technology.

Since the 1980s, she has been the first person in Vietnam to persistently research, teach and develop the field of corrosion and metal protection, a vital field in heavy industry, energy, oil and gas, and construction.

In 1996, she founded the Center for Corrosion and Metal Protection Research, under the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and served as its Director for more than a decade. Here, she trained hundreds of young engineers and researchers, and implemented highly applicable practical projects.

During the 1999–2001 term, she held the position of President of the Asia-Pacific Association of Materials and Corrosion – a milestone showing the regional stature of the Vietnamese female scientist.

Not only is she a tenacious intellectual, she is also a dedicated and insightful teacher. In many interviews, seminars and talks with students, she always emphasizes the ethics of scientific research and the spirit of dedication.

In 1995, she was awarded the Kovalevskaia Prize, one of the most prestigious awards for Vietnamese female intellectuals. She has also received many Labor Medals and State certificates of merit for her contributions to science, education, and work for the advancement of women.

In the eyes of colleagues and students, she is a serious and disciplined person in research but full of sympathy for students; a woman who is both dignified in her expertise and gentle in her dealings with others.

Many generations of her students shared that because Professor Cam always demanded perfection and neatness, generations of students also learned a lot, continuing and preserving this virtue of hers.

“Our generation of students greatly admire and are grateful for the knowledge, skills, and even work discipline she imparted to us,” Associate Professor Dr. Bich Thuy, Head of the Electrochemistry and Energy Storage and Conversion Group (Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology), a former student of Professor Cam, shared.

Prof. Dr. Phan Luong Cam chose a quiet lifestyle, not appearing much in the media, she focused on maintaining the dignity of an intellectual. In the scientific and educational community, her name is a symbol of standards, dedication and perseverance. Her passing leaves deep sorrow not only in the scientific community, but also in the hearts of those who studied with her, worked with her, and knew her as an example of a simple, intelligent and kind life.

There are people who don't need to say much, but their lives speak for them. Professor Phan Luong Cam is such a person.