The Prize named after Dr. Dirk Brouwer, an American with Dutch origin, a man of outstanding merit in computing the flight path of satellites and spacecrafts. Annually, the US Astronautic Science Association organizes the selection of research works for awarding this Prize. There are years when nobody was winner of the Prize. The contribution by Prof. Nguyen Xuan Vinh on the science of Space Orbit and Flight mechanic, movement mechanic of various satellites, planets, space aircrafts... is asserted as highly valued for space science in the future.

He was born in January 1930 at Yen Bai and studied abroad at USA since 1962.

In 1965, he was the first to be awarded the Doctorate diploma on Space science at Colorado University.

In 1968 he was Associate Professor and in 1972, Professor at Michigan University. Also in 1972 he was elected as National Doctor at Sorbonne University (France).

In 1982, he was Professor at Thanh Hoa University (Taiwan).

In 1984, he was the first Asian to be elected in the National Academy on Aviation and Astronautics of France.

In 1986 he was Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics.

He retired in 1999 at 69 years of age and lived with his family at San Jose, California. He had given lectures and presented scientific reports many times at Universities and Seminars in USA, Canada, Britain, France, Austria, Germany Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Israel, Japan, China, Prior to the reception of his Dirk Brouwer Prize, Prof. Nguyen Xuan Vinh had won the Mechanics and Control of Flight Prize (1994) of the USA Institute of Aviation and Cosmography, the Excellency 2000 Award (1996) Prize of Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce. He is author of the books Hypersonic and Planetary Entry Flight Mechanics (1980), Optimal Trajectories in Almospheric Flight (1981), Flight Mechanics of High Performance Aircraft (1993)... (http://vi.wikipedia.org).

Answering the interview when he was informed to be awarded the Dirk Brouwer Prize, he said: “After my retirement, my former students now being reputed professors in large universities at US expressed a wish for me to receive the Prize this year, though I see that it is not necessary... I longed for some days, there will be a Vietnamese artist to receive the Oscar prize... if ever in the future a Vietnamese could be winner of the Nobel prize, it shall really be a common glory to our nation”.

In 2002, during an interview, Prof. Nguyen Xuan Vinh had confided to young Vietnamese living and studying in USA: “Our generation had grown up in war conditions, so we did not enjoy the good luck as you at present. You are now the bright and radiant flowers fully blossoming in foreign land with multicoloured beauty. I look forward to you knowing the merits of your parents having surmounted untold hardships and obstacles to create favourable conditions for your success. Vis – à – vis yourselves, the personal success is valuable, but knowing to turn towards the original source, to follow instructions from parents, to preserve the good and beautiful national traits so that the voice, the writing and national culture being handed down from generation to generation... is just only the very fact we could be proud of”. (http://72.14.235.104/).

Replying to interview by the Voice of America in September 12^th 1994, Prof. Nguyen Xuan Vinh confided: “Apart from sciences, I also pay attention to the issue of maintaining national cultural tradition. Regarding young Vietnamese abroad, I always recommended them to preserve the Vietnamese language for further enriching it, to persist in traditional beautiful Vietnamese traditions. Regarding the youth at home I always counselled them trying their best to study for promoting a scientific - technical level.

This year Prof. Nguyen Xuan Vinh being 77, we wish him a longevity and a good health to re-visit the homeland where there remain 9 persons (from his 14 brothers and sisters) and their families still living. I got to know they are Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Huy, Captain Nguyen Xuan Bao, MD. Nguyen Thi Danh, Eng. Nguyen Xuan Chuc, Teachers Nguyen Thi Van Khanh, Nguyen Thi Nga, Nguyen Thi Sinh, poetess Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam... I’d like to add that I was a classmate since childhood of the Excellent Teacher Nguyen Trong Binh, son of Mr. Nguyen Duc Huan, uncle of Prof. Nguyen Xuan Vinh. I had also read some literary works by the Professor with a pen name as Toan Phong.