Professor Thuc-Quyen Nguyen

Dear Friends, family, and colleagues,

      I had a privilege to know Mananya Tantiwiwat as a student, as a friend, as a colleague, and as a younger sister.

     Mananya was a Physics graduate student who worked in my group since Winter 2007. I still remember the first meeting I had with her just like yesterday since there was something very special about her: she was very pleasant, polite, and cheerful. I immediately said yes and talked to Professor Alan Heeger so that he would agree to be her co-advisor. Since she was a physics graduate student, she would need someone in physics to be co-advisor. Below was the email she sent me dated Jan 8, 2007 before our meeting:

     Prof. Nguyen,

     I am a current second year Physics graduate student. I attended your  physics grad-seminar last year and am very interested in your research.  Since now I have completed all core courses requirement and also have taken MAT 215 (Cleanroom class) this past fall, I was wondering whether I can talk to you about your research and whether you can take on any more students. Please let me know.

I would appreciate your considerations.

Thank you,
Mananya Tantiwiwat

     Mananya is an extraordinary person. She is very friendly, approachable, caring, cheerful, and generous. She always offered help to people around her. Besides working in the labs, Mananya volunteered to help me teaching freshman chemistry and advanced analytical chemistry courses, mentoring students, and doing out reach activities. Shortly joining the group, she took charge of maintaining equipments and ordering supplies and materials for the group. She had a great work ethnic and never complained once even the first two projects she worked on were very challenging. Her approach to research was “just do it” and this was the advice she often gave to new students.  She had the ability to make people around her feeling comfortable and happy.

     In April 2008, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had been battling with cancer for over 3 years. She had put up an amazing fight without losing her smile, good heart, sense of humor, generousity, and kindness. She continued working in the lab between chemo and radiation treatment cycles and managed to finish her thesis. She was granted a PhD on April 14, 2011.  During these three years, she still cared about people around her. She still came to my office to ask how the first year students were doing, whether equipments in the labs worked properly, and whether she could help me with anything.

     Professor Galen Stucky wrote “Mananya is a wonderful individual who improved the lives of everyone in her life.” 

   She will be remembered by her many friends and colleagues for her generosity, amazing strength, and “her uncanny ability to make everyone around her feel happy,” Professor Dan Little wrote. 

    She finished her journey on Monday April 18, 2011 at the Cottage Hospital. She will always live in my mind and my heart for as long as I live. I have never seen angels or saints but to me, Mananya was a closest resembling of angels and saints as any human being could be.

   To honor her, we have established a fellowship under her name: Mananya Tantiwiwat Fellowship. Please help us to honor her life and her achievements. Donation is tax deductible. The fellowship will be awarded to graduate students who go above and beyond in their research, teaching, mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students, helping others, and reaching out to the community and to display the characteristics of determination, charity, excellence and good heartedness that Mananya had in excess. You can send the check to:

                   Professor Thuc-Quyen Nguyen

                   Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

                   University of California, Santa Barbara

                   Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510

                   USA

Checks should be made payable to: UC Regents, reference "Mananya Tantiwiwat Fellowship" at the memo line.

To Mr. and Mrs. Tantiwiwat, thank you very much for sharing Mananya with us. It has been an honor to know her.