Assoc. Prof. Phuoc Huu Le is a full-time Associate Professor in the International Ph.D. Program in Plasma and Thin Film Technology at Ming Chi University of Technology (MCUT), Taiwan, a position he has officially held since February 1, 2025. Prior to this appointment, he served as a Project Associate Professor at MCUT (August 2023–January 2025), where he actively participated in doctoral-level teaching, research supervision, and curriculum development. With more than 15 years of university-level teaching and research experience in Vietnam and Taiwan, he has developed a strong profile as an educator, researcher, and mentor in materials science, thin-film technology, nanotechnology, and applied physics.

Dr. Le earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), Taiwan, in July 2014. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at NCTU, focusing on topological insulator thin films and their magnetotransport and ultrafast dynamic properties. From 2016 to 2023, he served at Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Vietnam), where he was promoted to Associate Professor in Physics, held leadership roles as Department Chair and Vice Dean, and supervised numerous graduate students. He was also a visiting associate professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) before joining MCUT.

Over the past 2.5 years at MCUT, Dr. Le has established and expanded the PHL Research Group, developing well-equipped laboratory facilities for thin-film fabrication, nanomaterial synthesis, and photoelectrochemical characterization. He currently supervises or co-supervises four Ph.D. students and four master’s students, with several students nearing graduation and transitioning into doctoral programs.

Dr. Le’s research interests include:

1. Nanomaterials for photocatalysis and photoelectrochemical water splitting, energy conversion and storage (HER, OER, electrochemical sensing, supercapacitors);
2. Thermoelectric materials and metal oxide/nitride thin films, developed primarily by magnetron sputtering, and the study of their structural, morphological, compositional, electrical, optical, nanomechanical, and functional properties.

As an IIPP mentor, Dr. Le is committed to providing international interns with hands-on research training, close supervision, and an inclusive academic environment that supports both undergraduate and graduate students in developing experimental skills, scientific thinking, and international research experience.

PI's profiles, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7192-5927

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.tw/citations?hl=en&user=0ZWD5pIAAAAJ

The PI’s laboratory, in close collaboration with the Center for Plasma and Thin Film Technologies at Ming Chi University of Technology (MCUT), provides a well-equipped and supportive research environment for IIPP international internship students. By combining the PI’s dedicated laboratory space with shared preparation rooms and central facilities at the Center, interns will have access to all essential infrastructure required for nanomaterial synthesis, thin-film fabrication, and electrochemical characterization.

The laboratory supports a wide range of nanomaterial synthesis techniques, including hydrothermal and solvothermal synthesis, sol–gel processing, spin coating, chemical reduction, electrodeposition, and electrochemical exfoliation. Key in-lab equipment available for student use includes ten hydrothermal autoclaves (100 mL), a laboratory oven (72 L, up to 250 °C), a muffle furnace (up to 1200 °C), a centrifuge (6000 rpm, 15 mL), a vacuum/inert-gas annealing system (up to 1200 °C), two precision balances (maximum 240 g, 0.0001 g resolution), a nanomaterial filtration system with aspirator pump (PVDF 0.22 µm), an electrochemical workstation (Biologic SP-200), and a photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurement system.

All necessary consumables—including chemicals, solvents, glassware, substrates, and sputtering targets—will be provided during the internship period. In addition, the PI’s laboratory hosts multiple experienced Ph.D. students who actively assist with hands-on training, day-to-day laboratory guidance, and safe experimental operation, creating a friendly and collaborative learning environment for visiting interns.

While electrochemical and photoelectrochemical measurements are primarily conducted in the PI’s laboratory, advanced materials characterization is carried out using the shared instrumentation of the Plasma and Thin Film Technologies Center. These facilities include X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM-EDS, UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XPS, high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), and nanoindentation, with guidance provided by the PI and senior group members.

Overall, the laboratory offers a safe, well-supported, and resource-rich research setting, enabling IIPP interns to gain valuable hands-on experience in nanomaterials and thin-film research within a structured mentoring framework.

The mentor’s research group: https://sbo051193.wixsite.com/le-research-group

Center for Plasma and Thin Film Technologies: https://cptft.mcut.edu.tw/app/index.php