Quoc-Viet Dang Selected as Fulbright Scholar, Will Travel to Vietnam
June 23, 2025 - When UC Irvine electrical engineering and computer science Associate Professor of Teaching Quoc-Viet Dang was a child, he learned to diagnose and fix computers at his dad’s electronics store — a hobby that fostered his passion for engineering at an early age.
Dang, known as QV around campus, went on to study engineering at UCI, receiving a bachelor’s degree in information and computer science in 2004 and a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science in 2017. He was a programmer analyst for UCI’s Center for Embedded Computer Systems for six years before becoming a teaching associate/ graduate student researcher in 2013, before joining the faculty in 2017.
Next year, Dang will travel to Vietnam as a Fulbright Scholar awardee to teach and conduct research at Vietnam National University in Hanoi, specifically at the University of Engineering and Technology school (VNU-UET) from January to June 2026.
He is one of four professors at UCI to receive a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for the 2025-26 school year. Fulbright Scholars conduct research and instruct students at international institutions. This offers personal connections and networking opportunities to individual awardees and creates international connections between higher education institutions.
Growing up, Dang's grandparents instilled an importance of their Vietnamese heritage to their children and grandchildren. Being selected as a Fulbright Scholar allows a full-circle moment for Dang, who will now have an opportunity to teach in the country his family emigrated from.
“My grandpa, who's passed away now, said to me about 20 years ago, ‘No matter what you do, try to figure out a way to help the people back in Vietnam, because that could be you, or that could have been you if you didn't come to the U.S.,’” Dang said.
Dang’s grandparents grew up in Da Nang, a once small fishing village in central Vietnam that is now a bustling metropolis, thanks to the tourism and manufacturing industries. His grandfather, Ngu Van Dang, a fisherman, continued his career in America to support his eight children through college. His grandparents always strongly recommended that his siblings visit their home country to better understand and experience where their family came from. QV reluctantly visited Vietnam after his first year of college during the summer of 2001, when he was able to meet relatives he had only seen in pictures or spoke to over the phone.
“It was crowded, chaotic and amazing,” Dang said of his first visit. “It was such a culture shock compared to growing up in Orange County. There were people walking, bicycling and on mopeds everywhere — yet somehow, everyone got to where they needed to go without much issue. It was the best month of my life up to that point.”
For his upcoming six-month stay at VNU-UET, Dang will be working closely with administrators to aid with their accreditation process, and to build up the university to be internationally recognized. He will share his knowledge of UCI’s accreditation system, conducted by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., a nongovernmental organization for programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing and applied and natural sciences.
At VNU-UET, Dang will teach courses in system software engineering or embedded systems. The course descriptions and class sizes aren’t finalized, but he knows he will be teaching in English so students can practice their communication skills in two languages. Dang will focus on hands-on projects and in-class exercises and less on exams and lecturing following the teaching style he practices at the Samueli School of Engineering.
“The plan is to see how that kind of format works with a completely different audience, students who are not traditionally used to it, and then train or provide information to the Vietnamese lecturers who can integrate these practices into the existing curriculum,” Dang said. “We notice that with some of the students, and I think it's international students in general, not just students from Vietnam, when they come to UCI, it's kind of a weird experience for them, and they don't realize that they should be asking questions or going to office hours.”
His time in Vietnam will also consist of a joint research project between VNU-UET and UCI, exploring how to improve autonomous vehicle navigation in heterogeneous environments within the expanding cities that have increased traffic and significantly more people. His research expertise in embedded systems will be applied to collect data and implementation on a larger scale.
Along with broadening his teaching and administration skills, research opportunities and connecting to his heritage, Dang looks forward to exploring Vietnam in his free time. He is already planning a spring break trip, traveling from the northern part of the country to the south — all on a motorbike.
– Cassandra Nava
