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Hello
I'm Minh
"Translating urban data from Hanoi and Singapore into accessible engineering solutions.""Translating urban data from Hanoi and Singapore into accessible engineering solutions."
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I’m a student with a passion for understanding how dense cities work, drawing on parallel experiences in Hanoi and Singapore to make sense of urban data through computer science to turn those insights into practical, accessible solutions through engineering.
(01) FINDING MY BEARINGS ✶
THE WINDOW, THE TRAFFIC, THE PUZZLE
FINDING MY BEARINGS
Growing up, I vividly remember how I used to look out the window at lanes of traffic stretching in both directions. Cars and motorcycles alike squeeze into gaps that barely exist. Smog hangs over the road. Even from behind the glass, it feels crowded, and I find myself trying to untangle the scene before my own day has begun.
I see a puzzle: everyone has somewhere to go, yet so much movement ends in standing still. Watching it, I return to a principle that helps me find my way: less is more.
To me, less is more means that a small change can bring out more of what is already there. Whether I’m studying a city or writing code, I like asking what already works and how I might make it work a little better.
less is more
✶
(02) READING CITIES ✶
HANOI ⇄ SINGAPORE
READING CITIES
(HANOI) BÚN MỌC, AUTUMN
In Hanoi, I like cycling alone to an alley near Hoan Kiem Lake for bún mọc: rice noodles and pork meatballs flecked with wood-ear mushrooms. Beneath coils of wires, I wait for the broth to cool. A leaf drifts into my bowl. Autumn, apparently, has joined me for breakfast.
(SINGAPORE) THE KAMPUNG
Singapore first caught my eye with the glamour of its CBD. But wandering through a kampung, I met an uncle who invited me up for a chat. Between my broken Chinese and his patient repetitions, he spoke of village life and neighbours knitted together like wool. I couldn’t follow every memory; his invitation helped me understand.
These places converge in me in unexpected ways. Singapore makes me wonder what Hanoi could become; Hanoi makes me notice what Singapore holds onto. I find myself looking more closely at both, fascinated by how much can coexist within a few crowded streets. That is what draws me towards urban planning: the belief that cities carry the complexity of the people who built them, and that understanding a place begins with understanding its people.
(03) ROUTES INTO RESEARCH ✶
STUDY ✶ RESEARCH ✶ BUILD
ROUTES INTO RESEARCH
(A) THE CLASSROOM
IB DIPLOMA & EXTENDED ESSAY
I’m completing the IB Diploma at SJI International School on a three-year, full-ride scholarship. My Mathematics Extended Essay examines the relationship between machine-learning regularization and constrained optimization through Lagrange multipliers.
(B) THE FIELD
UNDER DR. NGUYEN THAI HUYEN
RESEARCH ON HANOI’S ĐỒNG NÁT
Under Dr. Nguyen Thai Huyen, I assist with data analysis for research into Hanoi’s đồng nát informal scrap collectors, applying sentiment analysis to raw interview responses to examine workers’ perspectives on their livelihoods, and contributing to the manuscript’s evaluation and proofreading.
(C) THE WORKBENCH
SMART BUS TRACKER & URBANSENSE
With students from Vietnamese schools and UWC ISAK Japan, I integrated an ESP32 with a NFC reader alongside a GPS module and developed the web frontend for a smart school-bus tracking prototype that won gold at WICO.
I’m also developing UrbanSense, an ESP32-S3 device combining a BME680 environmental sensor with a light sensor and GPS module. It logs location-tagged readings to microSD, displays them on an LCD, and connects to a locally-hosted server to compare local measurements with NEA’s Air Temperature and Rainfall data.
(04) TAKING LEARNING FURTHER ✶
CLUBS ✶ COUNCIL ✶ WORKSHOPS
TAKING LEARNING FURTHER
(A) BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Beyond the classroom, I enjoy giving fellow enthusiasts opportunities to experiment and make an idea their own. Through the Hands-On Engineering Club, I guide younger students through practical design challenges: combining CAD modelling with structural engineering to predict how much weight their 3D-printed bridges can hold, all within a fixed allowance of plastic filament. As Head of Event Planning for the STEM Council, I organize activities that bring physics and mathematics beyond the classroom (fractals are super cool, by the way).
(B) BACK HOME
Back home, I lead Hanoi Electronics Club, introducing students to Arduino and electronic engineering through hands-on workshops. I also help supervise participants at the VEX Robotics national competition. Through Safe and Smart, I deliver cybersecurity talks to school students, helping them understand online risks and make more informed decisions about what they share.
That is what education as empowerment means to me: encouraging people to venture into unfamiliar territory, even before they feel entirely ready.
HOME
CASES
STUDIO
SERVICES
LABS
MENU ✶
Hello
I'm Minh
"Translating urban data from Hanoi and Singapore into accessible engineering solutions.""Translating urban data from Hanoi and Singapore into accessible engineering solutions."
S
C
R
O
L
L
T
O
S
E
E
M
O
R
E
S
C
R
O
L
L
T
O
S
E
E
M
O
R
E
I’m a student with a passion for understanding how dense cities work, drawing on parallel experiences in Hanoi and Singapore to make sense of urban data through computer science to turn those insights into practical, accessible solutions through engineering.
(01) FINDING MY BEARINGS ✶
THE WINDOW, THE TRAFFIC, THE PUZZLE
FINDING MY BEARINGS
Growing up, I vividly remember how I used to look out the window at lanes of traffic stretching in both directions. Cars and motorcycles alike squeeze into gaps that barely exist. Smog hangs over the road. Even from behind the glass, it feels crowded, and I find myself trying to untangle the scene before my own day has begun.
I see a puzzle: everyone has somewhere to go, yet so much movement ends in standing still. Watching it, I return to a principle that helps me find my way: less is more.
To me, less is more means that a small change can bring out more of what is already there. Whether I’m studying a city or writing code, I like asking what already works and how I might make it work a little better.
less is more
✶
(02) READING CITIES ✶
HANOI ⇄ SINGAPORE
READING CITIES
(HANOI) BÚN MỌC, AUTUMN
In Hanoi, I like cycling alone to an alley near Hoan Kiem Lake for bún mọc: rice noodles and pork meatballs flecked with wood-ear mushrooms. Beneath coils of wires, I wait for the broth to cool. A leaf drifts into my bowl. Autumn, apparently, has joined me for breakfast.
(SINGAPORE) THE KAMPUNG
Singapore first caught my eye with the glamour of its CBD. But wandering through a kampung, I met an uncle who invited me up for a chat. Between my broken Chinese and his patient repetitions, he spoke of village life and neighbours knitted together like wool. I couldn’t follow every memory; his invitation helped me understand.
These places converge in me in unexpected ways. Singapore makes me wonder what Hanoi could become; Hanoi makes me notice what Singapore holds onto. I find myself looking more closely at both, fascinated by how much can coexist within a few crowded streets. That is what draws me towards urban planning: the belief that cities carry the complexity of the people who built them, and that understanding a place begins with understanding its people.
(03) ROUTES INTO RESEARCH ✶
STUDY ✶ RESEARCH ✶ BUILD
ROUTES INTO RESEARCH
(A) THE CLASSROOM
IB DIPLOMA & EXTENDED ESSAY
I’m completing the IB Diploma at SJI International School on a three-year, full-ride scholarship. My Mathematics Extended Essay examines the relationship between machine-learning regularization and constrained optimization through Lagrange multipliers.
(B) THE FIELD
UNDER DR. NGUYEN THAI HUYEN
RESEARCH ON HANOI’S ĐỒNG NÁT
Under Dr. Nguyen Thai Huyen, I assist with data analysis for research into Hanoi’s đồng nát informal scrap collectors, applying sentiment analysis to raw interview responses to examine workers’ perspectives on their livelihoods, and contributing to the manuscript’s evaluation and proofreading.
(C) THE WORKBENCH
SMART BUS TRACKER & URBANSENSE
With students from Vietnamese schools and UWC ISAK Japan, I integrated an ESP32 with a NFC reader alongside a GPS module and developed the web frontend for a smart school-bus tracking prototype that won gold at WICO.
I’m also developing UrbanSense, an ESP32-S3 device combining a BME680 environmental sensor with a light sensor and GPS module. It logs location-tagged readings to microSD, displays them on an LCD, and connects to a locally-hosted server to compare local measurements with NEA’s Air Temperature and Rainfall data.
(04) TAKING LEARNING FURTHER ✶
CLUBS ✶ COUNCIL ✶ WORKSHOPS
TAKING LEARNING FURTHER
(A) BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Beyond the classroom, I enjoy giving fellow enthusiasts opportunities to experiment and make an idea their own. Through the Hands-On Engineering Club, I guide younger students through practical design challenges: combining CAD modelling with structural engineering to predict how much weight their 3D-printed bridges can hold, all within a fixed allowance of plastic filament. As Head of Event Planning for the STEM Council, I organize activities that bring physics and mathematics beyond the classroom (fractals are super cool, by the way).
(B) BACK HOME
Back home, I lead Hanoi Electronics Club, introducing students to Arduino and electronic engineering through hands-on workshops. I also help supervise participants at the VEX Robotics national competition. Through Safe and Smart, I deliver cybersecurity talks to school students, helping them understand online risks and make more informed decisions about what they share.
That is what education as empowerment means to me: encouraging people to venture into unfamiliar territory, even before they feel entirely ready.