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LAB · 04 / CTR — CARBON TRANSITION

CtrLab — Carbon Transition Lab

Understand, quantify, and control carbon emissions and their impacts through data-driven science — integrating emissions, exposure, energy and climate into one unified system.

Net-Zero Digital Twin WRF-CMAQ Emission Profiling Green Policy System Optimization
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LAB · CTRLAB · ISCM · UEH

Monitoring and Managing Vietnam's Urban Environment

CtrLab is an environmental research lab that integrates atmospheric science, climate systems, and energy transition to understand, measure, and manage the environmental pressures on Vietnam's rapidly urbanising cities. The lab develops scientific tools and policy evidence across air quality, climate adaptation, and low-carbon energy — treating the urban environment as an interconnected system.

From mapping PM2.5 pollution across Ho Chi Minh City with WRF-CMAQ atmospheric modelling, to building urban digital twins that simulate heat islands and flooding scenarios, to analysing Vietnam's energy decoupling trajectory — CtrLab bridges environmental science with actionable urban policy.

Air Quality Monitoring PM2.5 · WRF-CMAQ Urban Heat Island Climate Adaptation Energy Transition Net-Zero Pathways
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING SYSTEM · CTRLAB RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Environmental intelligence for Vietnam's urban future
WRF-CMAQ ATMOSPHERIC MODELLING Meteorological fields · Pollutant dispersion · Emission inventory integration · Satellite validation Atmosphere AIR QUALITY · PM2.5 / NOx CONCENTRATION Spatial distribution mapping · Health exposure risk assessment · HCMC urban monitoring network Air Quality CLIMATE ADAPTATION · URBAN HEAT ISLAND Urban digital twin · Heat & flooding scenario modelling · Transport–pollution–temperature coupling Climate ENERGY TRANSITION · DECARBONISATION Renewables & electricity efficiency · Energy intensity turning points · Net-zero urban pathways Energy CTRLAB PLATFORM Environmental Monitoring & Modelling Scenario Simulation · Policy Evidence Urban Digital Twin · Risk Assessment RISK MAPS PM2.5 exposure spatial models DIGITAL TWIN urban scenarios GREEN POLICY net-zero tools ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE FOR VIETNAM'S URBAN FUTURE
AIR QUALITY

PM2.5 Spatial Modelling

Mapping PM2.5 concentration and resident exposure risk across Ho Chi Minh City using WRF-CMAQ atmospheric simulation and emission inventory data from vehicles, industry, and biomass burning.

  • Spatial distribution of PM2.5 in HCMC
  • Urban morphology & pollution interaction
  • Exposure risk & health-impact mapping
  • Emission inventory · WRF-CMAQ modelling
CLIMATE ADAPTATION

Urban Digital Twin

Integrating transportation flow, pollution emission, and urban heat into a unified city-scale digital twin for scenario simulation — supporting planning against heat islands, flooding, and extreme weather events.

  • Traffic flow & pollution emission coupling
  • Urban heat island & ambient temperature
  • Flooding & climate risk scenarios
  • Scenario simulation · digital twin platform
ENERGY TRANSITION

Decarbonisation Pathways

Long-term analysis of electricity consumption efficiency in Vietnam, the role of renewables in decoupling energy from economic growth, and the structural drivers of energy intensity turning points since 1990.

  • Electricity efficiency & intensity trends
  • Renewables & energy-growth decoupling
  • Energy intensity turning points
  • Net-zero urban mobility pathways
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Scientific Outputs

ISI/Scopus publications, conference papers, new environmental methods & models

Technical Outputs

PM2.5 risk maps, urban digital twin platform, climate scenario & risk-assessment tools

Human Capacity

Trained MSc/PhD researchers in environmental science, established international collaborations

Policy Impact

Green policy recommendations, net-zero decision-support tools, improved environmental governance

Quang Tran Vuong
LAB LEAD
Quang Tran Vuong, PhD
Environmental & Climate Science · ISCM–UEH
An Le — PhD Candidate (Systems Modelling)
DEVELOPING TRACKS

Three interlocking research tracks

AIR

Air Quality

PM2.5 spatial distribution in HCMC, interactions between urban morphology and air pollution, and resident exposure-risk maps using WRF-CMAQ modelling.

  • Spatial distribution of PM2.5 in HCMC
  • Interaction of urban morphology & air pollution
  • Exposure risk & health impact mapping
  • WRF-CMAQ simulation, emission inventory, risk models
CLIMATE

Climate Change Adaptation

Integrated urban digital twin linking transportation, pollution emission, and urban heat — development of scenarios and a digital twin platform.

  • Transportation: traffic flow, density
  • Pollution: PM2.5, NOx emissions
  • Urban heat: ambient temperature
  • Scenario simulation & digital twin platform
ENERGY

Energy Efficiency

Long-term analysis of electricity consumption efficiency in Vietnam and the economic drivers of energy intensity turning points.

  • Evolution of electricity consumption since 1990
  • Role of renewables in decoupling energy & growth
  • Turning points in electricity intensity
  • Drivers of energy-efficiency by growth component
INTERACTIVE DEMO

Exposure Risk Explorer

Use the time slider to see PM2.5 concentration and exposure risk across HCMC, and toggle between air-quality, urban-heat and energy layers.

PM2.5 µg/m³
0 150
Hotspot Warning Safe
MONTH
Jan 2026
HCMC AVG
—
EXPOSURE RISK
—
HOTSPOTS
—
TIME
Ready · drag the time slider or press Play
NET-ZERO PATHWAY

Vietnam Urban Carbon — Route to Net-Zero 2050

Three emission scenarios for Vietnam's urban mobility sector. Select a scenario to explore the intervention milestones and carbon budget implications modelled by CtrLab.

CARBON BUDGET REMAINING: —
SELECT A SCENARIO ABOVE — click a button to explore emission trajectories, key intervention milestones, and residual carbon budget under each pathway.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP

From datasets to policy impact

CtrLab is building toward a regional reference lab — integrating datasets, scenarios, and decision-support tools over three phases.

2026 — 2027 · PHASE 1

Foundation & Data Integration

Building datasets, publishing baseline studies, securing national grants. Collaboration with VAST for WRF-CMAQ simulation and SUTD survey data checks.

2027 — 2028 · PHASE 2

Digital Twin Platform

Integrating datasets, developing different scenarios, collaborating and applying for international grants (Khanh Hoa Province & beyond).

2028 — 2030 · PHASE 3

Control & Policy Impact

Translating results into decision-support tools, providing policy recommendations, delivering cross-cutting value: air quality + energy + climate; research ⇒ tools ⇒ policy.

PUBLICATIONS

Selected publications

2026

Investigation on long-range atmospheric transport of five-year fine particulate matter in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

QT Vuong, PQ Thang, LV Linh — The 12th Better Air Quality Conference, March 11–13, 2026, Bangkok, Thailand.

2024

HoloGaussian Digital Twin: Reconstructing 3D Scenes with Gaussian Splatting for Tabletop Hologram Visualization of Real Environments

Do, T. L. P., Choi, J., Le, V. Q., Gentet, P., Hwang, L., & Lee, S. — Remote Sensing, 16(23), 4591. doi:10.3390/rs16234591

2024

ArtTech Fusion: Hướng tiếp cận mới để phát triển quận 3 thành đô thị thông minh đáng sống

Trịnh T.A., Trần T.Q.M., Lê Q.V., & Phạm N.H. — Kỷ yếu hội thảo Quận 3, Trung tâm nghiên cứu kiến trúc, Sở quy hoạch kiến trúc TP.HCM.

STAKEHOLDERS & BENEFITS

Who CtrLab serves

Students

  • Hands-on experience with real datasets (air quality, energy, climate, mobility)
  • Training in advanced methods: modelling / simulation, AI / ML, digital twin
  • Participation in science-based, applied, policy-relevant research projects
  • Opportunities for thesis, publications, and international collaborations
  • Career pathways in environmental analytics, smart cities, and sustainability

Universities & Institutions

  • Access to integrated datasets
  • Collaboration on interdisciplinary research projects
  • Co-development of models and tools (prediction, risk assessment, digital twin)
  • Joint publications in ISI / Scopus journals and conferences

Authorities · Industry · NGOs

  • Evidence-based decision support tools
  • Access to digital twin platform for urban / environmental management
  • Data-driven insights for net-zero strategies & emission reduction
  • Pilot testing of technologies and interventions in real-world settings
  • Long-term collaboration in policy design, implementation, and evaluation

Cross-cutting value of CtrLab

Integrated approach: Air Quality + Energy + Climate. End-to-end pipeline: research ⇒ tools ⇒ policy.

TEAM

People

QT
Lead · Lecturer, Environment Science & Eng.

Quang Tran Vuong, PhD

VD
Lecturer

Vo Dao Chi, PhD

TN
Researcher

Trung Tan Nguyen, PhD

QV
Researcher

Quang Vu Bach, PhD

AL
PhD Candidate

An Le

SR
MArch

Sandhya Rao