Anh Duong, Science Advisor to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information, Plans, and Strategy, The Pentagon, Arlington, VA

Anh N. Duong and her family came to the United States as refugees of war after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. She and her relatives left the day Saigon fell by helicopter and were taken to a Vietnamese boat that met up with a U.S. ship. Each family member jumped one by one onto the U.S. ship in high seas. Ms. Duong came to the U.S. as a refugee through Pennsylvania. While her parents struggled to start over, Ms. Duong entered 10th grade at Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland with a determination to excel, despite not speaking English. She graduated at the top 3% of her high school class and went on to graduate Cum Laude in Chemical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Maryland at College Park. Ms. Duong also graduated from American University earning a graduate degree in Public Administration.

Ms. Duong is most well known for her role in the development of thermobaric weapons. She designed the thermobaric bomb credited with helping win the war in Afghanistan and continues to develop anti-terrorism technologies for the Pentagon. In only 67 days, her team of nearly one hundred scientists, engineers and technicians successfully went from concept through development, scale-up and production of the first thermobaric weapon in the U.S. in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This earned her team the Roger Smith Team Award, while Ms. Duong was given the Civilian Meritorious Medal.