Dr Nguyễn Văn Sơn is currently a Principal Research Staff Member at IBM Albany Nanotech (USA), situated at the University at Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (New York)—one of the pre-eminent semiconductor research centres globally. Dr Nguyễn Văn Sơn graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the State University of New York (SUNY Plattsburgh) in 1978 and earned a PhD in Solid State Chemistry from Brown University in 1981. Research conducted by Dr Nguyễn Văn Sơn focuses on electronic materials, including low-k dielectrics and copper interconnects for future high-performance nano-electronic logic and memory devices.

With over 44 years at IBM, alongside tenures at Exxon Research and Applied Materials, Dr Nguyễn Văn Sơn has contributed to the research and development of numerous generations of microelectronic technologies and advanced dielectric materials for DRAM, CMOS, thin films, and recording heads. Dr Nguyễn Văn Sơn held the position of Chief Technical Officer for the dielectric group at Applied Materials between 2002 and 2003 and served as a Research Chemist at Exxon Research in 1980. Significant accolades include several IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement and Corporate Awards, notably for research into low-k dielectric materials. Furthermore, Dr Nguyễn Văn Sơn has been honoured with multiple technical awards from the IEEE. To date, Dr Nguyễn Văn Sơn holds more than 317 patents granted in the United States and internationally, complemented by over 188 scientific publications, including conference presentations, university lectures, journal articles, and book chapters.