Hoa Thi Bui
Federation University Australia
Interview conducted by Masoud Kamgarpour for the Gazette of the AustMS (PDF)
1. When did you first become interested in mathematics?
I did not have a particular interest in mathematics until the 6th grade. This is the first year that students in Vietnam learn how to do a proper mathematical proof like induction, or proof by contradiction. I enjoyed so much that I spent the whole year writing a book, which I called “number theory”, to collect my thoughts and proofs. It was mainly just a collection of my homework. Of course, this book has never been published. Nevertheless, I am very proud of it.
2. Could you tell us about your life and career path so far?
I was born in a small town in middle of Vietnam. I moved to Ho Chi Minh city to study my bachelor’s degree in maths. I have always admired all of my maths teachers and wanted to be a maths teacher myself.
At the end of my bachelor’s, I attended a spring school organised by the Vietnamese Mathematical Society. At the end, I was really sad when I realised that this was meant to be my last mathematics lecture. I distinctly remember that the last lecture was about Random and Galton-Watson trees and was really enjoyable. After the spring school, I decided to postpone my teaching dream and seek an opportunity for studying PhD in mathematics.
I was lucky that my university lecturers, especially my honour supervisor, were very supportive. They gave me valuable advice regarding studying PhD in Australia.
3. What does your current research involves?
My research involves both theoretical and applied mathematics with a particular focus on variational analysis, optimization and graph theory, and their applications in the real world.
During my PhD at the Federation University, I explored generalisations of convex separation theorem for nonconvex settings and characterised certain irregularity behaviours of the intersections of sets. I have published several papers on this topic. One of my current goals is to apply the theory to practical real world problems. Since most real-world problems are inherently non-convex, I want to utilize some important optimisation properties of convex functions beyond the convex framework. I have published one paper in this regard and have an on-going project, in which I develop some related computational tools.
During my PhD, I also got involved in a reading group on graphs of polytopes. I was fascinated with the topic and decided to pursue graph theory as my secondary research field. I first studied the connectivity and linkedness of graphs of cubical polytopes and obtained publications in this direction. Currently, I am working on proving certain graph colouring conjectures for polytope graphs.
I enjoy all mathematical topics and continuously try to broaden my research to connect with other more diverse branches of mathematics. I understand and value the importance of publications; however, I place more importance in further developing my knowledge of mathematics and my appreciation of its beauty through discussions and problem solving with my collaborators and students.
After PhD graduation, my passion for mathematics has grown into a more practical direction. Thus, currently I am applying what I have learned during three years of PhD to solve real world problems. My ultimate goal in the next five years is to answer many of my applied questions and to carry my principle research further.
At the moment, I am working as a postdoc with an operations research group at Curtin University. I am leading a project on scheduling problems for industry companies. It is very fascinating. I had never imagined that my theorems, obtained in a theoretical setting, could be useful in real world setting. The experience has given me a new perspective on the applications of mathematics.
4. How do you achieve a balance between your work and life?
I enjoy painting and photography and have a goal to sell my paintings at the City Beach Market in Perth. I think the key thing is that we should enjoy everything we are doing. If that is the case, all else will fall into place.
5. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Academically, I want to be a strong independent researcher in a senior academic position. I would like to have some breakthroughs in my field of research, and I am working towards that. In addition, I will keep doing more industrial and other real-world applications. I hope these will have real impact in the world. Of course, I hope to still enjoy what I am doing.
6. What advice would you offer to young women who are just starting their careers in the mathematical sciences?
“Be yourself” is the only advice I can offer at the moment. It is, for me, a very strong statement. I wasn’t a person who follows the standard norms and I have never minded that. I am very lucky to have my parents’ encouragement and my teachers full support. Many of my female friends have not been that fortunate. They have followed the mindsets (or standard norms) of other people, which has occasionally meant giving up on their dreams.
7. How has your experience doing mathematics in Australia been so far?
Doing mathematics is fun regardless of where you are. Specifically, in Australia, having my supervisors and other researchers to discuss maths brings me great joy. I like the friendly environment where I can call professors by their first name. I feel like there is no distance between students and faculty members. I find this approachable environment helpful for learning and collaborations.