San Thang
Contents
Biography
San H Thang was born in Saigon, Vietnam on 28 August 1954. He completed his BSc in Chemistry (University of Saigon, Faculty of Science, Vietnam) in 1976, and held the position of Chemist (SINCO Sewing Machine Manufacturing Co., Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) from 1976 to 1979.
He arrived in Brisbane, Australia as a refugee from Vietnam in 1979. He obtained his BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Prof Gus Guthrie (Griffith University, Brisbane) in 1983 and his PhD in Organic Chemistry (Griffith University, Brisbane) in 1987 under the supervision of Drs Jenkins and Busfield (Griffith University, Brisbane) and Drs Ezio Rizzardo and David Solomon (CSIRO).
San Thang joined CSIRO in 1986 as a Research Fellow, and then moved to ICI Australia Research Group in late 1987 to undertake the challenge of industrial research in UV sunscreens and agrochemicals.
He re-joined CSIRO in late 1990 rising to the position of Senior Principal Research Scientist in 2000. From November 1999 to May 2000 he spent six months as a Visiting Scientist at EI DuPont Performance Coatings, Troy Laboratory, Michigan, USA.
His research focus is primarily on the interface between organic and polymer chemistry. He is a leading expert in the field of free radical chemistry and polymer chemistry and has developed and held several key inventions in the area of controlled/living radical polymerisation. Significantly, he is a co-inventor of the living radical polymerisation by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (the RAFT process).
Honours and awards
Fellowships
| 2006 | Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI C Chem) |
| 2006 | Fellow of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) |
Awards
| 2003 | CSIRO Medal (seminal contributor) for innovation in polymer science |
| 1990 | CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement (team member) |
| 1983‑86 | Griffith University Postgraduate Research Awards |
Memberships of Organisations and Committees
| 2005‑07 | Treasurer, Federation of Asian Chemical Societies |
| 2005 | Life Member of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies |
| 2004‑05 | National Representative, Committee on Chemical Education IUPAC |
| 2003‑05 | Chairman of Publications, Federation of Asian Chemical Societies |
| 2002 | Regional Receiving Editor, the Australian Journal of Chemistry |
| 2001‑03 | Secretary General, Federation of Asian Chemical Societies |
| 1998 | National Organising Committee Member, World Polymer Congress, Gold Coast |
| 1997‑98 | Coordinator, scientific collaboration between CSIRO and The National Center of Science and Technology, Vietnam |
| 1990 | Committee Member, RACI Polymer Division 18th Australian Polymer Symposium |
| 1988‑89 | Treasurer, Polymer Group of the RACI Victorian Branch |
| 1987 | Member of American Chemical Society |
| 1987 | Committee Member, Polymer Group of the RACI Victorian Branch |
| 1984 | Member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) |
Source
- Thang SH, 2009, Personal communication.
Related information
- CSIRO Molecular & Health Technologies: RAFT Technologies
- RAFT: A video showcasing the technology and application (Video)
