{{Short description|American biochemist (1933–2026)}} '''Xuong Nguyen-Huu''' (Vietnamese: ''Nguyễn Hữu Xương''; July 14, 1933 – May 11, 2026) was an American biochemist and a pioneer of protein crystallography technology. His research focuses on the development of novel methods, such as protein crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, for the determination of protein structures and biological macromolecules.<ref name="nhx1">[https://books.google.com/books?id=prhRl6DYXRMC&pg=PA359 Bio], Distinguished Asian Americans: a biographical dictionary - pp. 359-360</ref><ref name="cmu">{{Cite web |url=http://bic.cs.cmu.edu/faculty.htm |title=Bio at Carnergie Mellon University - Biotechnology Innovation and Computation Faculty and Advisors |access-date=2011-12-22 |archive-date=2012-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114081750/http://bic.cs.cmu.edu/faculty.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Life and career== Nguyen-Huu was born in Vietnam on July 14, 1933.<ref name="obit">{{cite web |title=Xuong Nguyen-Huu |url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/san-diego-ca/xuong-nguyen-huu-12886181 |website=Dignity Memorial |access-date=15 May 2026}}</ref> He received his B.S.E.E. in electrical engineering; M.S.E.E. from Ecole Superieure d'Electricite, Paris, France (1957); M.S. in mathematics from University of Paris, Paris (1958); M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley (1962).<ref name="nhx1"/><ref name="nhx2">[http://www-chem.ucsd.edu/faculty/profiles/nguyen-huu_xuong.html Bio at UCSD]</ref>
He was a professor emeritus of physics, biology, chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego since 1964.<ref name="nhx2"/><ref>[http://www-physics.ucsd.edu/fac_staff/fac_profile/faculty_description.php?person_id=319 Faculty Description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414225406/http://www-physics.ucsd.edu/fac_staff/fac_profile/faculty_description.php?person_id=319 |date=2012-04-14 }} of UC San Diego, Department of Physics</ref> He is a pioneer of protein crystallography technology <ref name="nhx1"/> and of the field of Direct Detection Device (DDD) that will be used in Electron Microscopy.<ref name="cmu"/> He is also inventor of "''Xuong’s X-Ray Machine''" (or ''Xuong Machine'') in 1975, an X-ray Multiwire Area Detector, which using Multi-wire Proportional Chambers and then Silicon detectors to help researchers map three-dimensional structure of receptor and allowed for high-speed data collection,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090507121719/http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/psi/timeline_text.html 50 Years of Protein Structure Determination Timeline - HTML Version - National Institute of General Medical Sciences] at NIH</ref> and can be used to find drugs to kill deadly viruses such as HIV (the AIDS virus), Polio, etc.<ref>[http://libraries.ucsd.edu/historyofucsd/newsreleases/1990/19901128a.html "Xuong Machine" helps researchers map three-dimensional structure of receptor]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114172011/http://libraries.ucsd.edu/historyofucsd/newsreleases/1990/19901128a.html |date=November 14, 2011 }}, libraries.ucsd, November 28, 1990</ref>
His awards include Guggenheim Fellowship (1965–1966), NATO Senior Fellowship (1977), Fogerty Fellowship (Unable to accept, 1984), Union of Pacific Asian Communities Award (1985), UCSD Chancellor Associate Award (1992)<ref>[http://libraries.ucsd.edu/historyofucsd/newsreleases/1992/19920408a.html Four UCSD faculty members honored for excellence by Chancellor's Associates]</ref> and Charles E. Supper Instrumentation Award from American Crystallographic Association (2004).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amercrystalassn.org/content/pages/main-award-descriptions |title=American Crystallographic Association - Award Descriptions |website=www.amercrystalassn.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130002642/http://www.amercrystalassn.org/content/pages/main-award-descriptions |archive-date=2010-01-30}}</ref> He is also founder of Area Detector Systems Corporation. <ref>[http://www.proteincrystallography.org/detectors/adsc.php Area Detector Systems Corporation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323033655/http://www.proteincrystallography.org/detectors/adsc.php |date=March 23, 2012 }}</ref>
Nguyen-Huu served as the President of the Vietnamese Alliance Association, 1976–1992 and was also co-founder and Ex-Chairman of "Boat People SOS Committee" from 1980 to 1990, which worked with another non-profit organizations to obtain visas for Vietnamese refugees (Boat people) and they successfully sent out rescue ships on the South China Sea to pick up drifting boat people, saving more than 3,500.<ref>Jackie Bong-Wright, [http://www.asianfortunenews.com/site/article_0609.php?article_id=134 Vietnamese Refugees’ Journey to Freedom], asianfortunenews, 2009</ref><ref>RALPH FRAMMOLINO, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-04-02-me-2431-story.html Vietnamese Contributions : $40,000 Is Donated to Help Boat People], Los Angeles Times, April 02, 1986</ref><ref>DAVID SMOLLAR, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-12-me-2920-story.html How Two Educators Approach the Challenge of Vietnamese Issues : Physics Professor Finds the Time for Global Lobbying], LA Times, February 12, 1989</ref>
Nguyen-Huu died on May 11, 2026, at the age of 92.<ref name="obit"/>
==Selected patents== * Direct collection transmission electron microscopy. With Mark H Ellisman, Stuart Kleinfelder. * Method of high-energy particle imaging by computing a difference between sampled pixel voltages. With Liang Jin, Robert B Bilh <ref>[http://www.ipexl.com/en/patentSearch?q=nguyen+huu+xuong&sort=3&rows=10&q= At Intellectual Property EXchange Limited]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Selected publications== * Crystal Structure of a Transition State Mimic of the Catalytic Subunit of cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase. With Madhusudan, P. Akamine, and S. S. Taylor. Nature Struc. Biol. 9, 273 2002. * The Structures of Anthranilate Synthase of Serratia Marcescens Crystallized in the Presence of (i) its substrates, Chorismate and Glutamine, and a Product, Glutamate, and (ii) its End-product Inhibitor, L-tryptophan. With G. Spraggon, C. Kim, M. C. Yee, C. Yanofsky, and S. E. Mills. PNAS 98, 6021 2001. * Status of the Digital Pixel Array Detector for Protein Crystallography. With P. Datte, A. Birkbeck, E. Beuville, N. Enres, F. Druillole, L. Luo, and J. Millaud. Nuclear Instru. & Methods Phys. Res. A-421, 576 1999. * ASIC-Based Event-Driven 2D Digital Electron Counter for TEM Imaging. With G.Y. Fan, P. Datte, E. Beuville, J.-F. Beche, J. Millaud, K.H. Downing, F.T. Burkard, and M.H. Ellisman. Ultramicroscopy 70, 107 1998.<ref name="nhx2"/>
==References== <references/>
==External links== * [https://www-chem.ucsd.edu/faculty/profiles/nguyen-huu_xuong.html Xuong Nguyen-Huu, Professor of Biology, UCSD] * [http://www.forgottenpeople.net/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=33 Bio at Forgotten People Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426065432/http://www.forgottenpeople.net/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=33 |date=2012-04-26 }} * [http://inspirehep.net/author/Xuong%2C%20Nguyen-Huu?recid=50355&ln=en Publications]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * [http://patent.ipexl.com/inventor/xuong_nguyen-huu_1.html Xuong Nguyen-huu - Inventor]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20111114172011/http://libraries.ucsd.edu/historyofucsd/newsreleases/1990/19901128a.html "Xuong Machine" helps researchers map three-dimensional structure of receptor]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen-Huu, Xuong}} Category:1933 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Supélec alumni Category:University of Paris alumni Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:20th-century American biochemists Category:Academics of Vietnamese descent Category:Vietnamese emigrants to the United States Category:University of California, San Diego faculty Category:Vietnamese community activists