IO, Jakarta – Four Indonesian women researchers are beneficiaries of the 16th National L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science (FWIS) fellowships award for efforts to develop scientific innovations to realize sustainable development, receiving the recognition in Jakarta, Tuesday (11/26/2019). Held since 2004, the award is meant to arouse the interest and enthusiasm of women researchers in the field of science. The program has awarded fellowships to 57 women researchers in Indonesia, five of whom have subsequently received awards in the international arena.
Prof. Dr. Arief Rachman, Chair of the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO, Ministry of Education and Culture, stated “Based on UNESCO Institute for Statistics data, although the number of female scientists is relatively low, there has been an increase compared to previous years. Through this program, we hope to support women scientists to make a real contribution to developing a better future for Indonesia. “
The jury consisted of Herawati Sudoyo, Pratiwi Sudarmono, Indrawati Gandjar, Fenny M. Dwivany, Ariadne L. Juwono, Neni Sintawardani and Agus Purwanto; chaired by Endang Sukara, it named four winners after selecting 54 research proposals. The four winners meet the five established criteria, including originality, and are considered to have exerted a meaningful impact on the community. “Most importantly, they offer solutions in the short and long term for the benefit of the people,” said Prof. Endang
The four award recipients: first, Widiastuti Karim from the Faculty of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries at Udayana University with a research proposal entitled “Study of the biological function of Green Fluorescent Proteins (GFP) to address coral bleaching”. Second, Ayu Savitri Nurinsiyah from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), “Exploration of land snails for the potential of biodiversity as a solution to health problems”. Third, Swasmi Puwajanti from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), “Exploration of the development of multifunctional magnesium oxide-based super nanoadsorbents from bittern for more efficient water decontamination”. Fourth, Osi Arutanti from LIPI: “Exploration of alternative photocotalis materials that are efficient and can be activated by solar energy as a solution to environmental problems”.
The four winners are to receive fellowships of IDR 95 million each to realize their research. (est)