Balinese student named best young researcher
Balinese student named best young researcher
JAKARTA (JP): A Balinese junior high school student who found
a better way of preventing land erosion caused by wave action and
tides won first prize at the Youth Scientific Research Contest on
Thursday.
Thirteen-year old I Komang Adi Aswantara of state junior high
school SLTPN 1 in Singaraja, Bali, beat 26 other finalists to
claim the overall title and the Rp 3 million ($360) cash prize
and a personal computer.
Komang's paper looked into the problem of land erosion caused
by the sea in his home town. Walls built for the purpose were
found wanting and had not stopped the process.
He concluded in his paper by suggesting that the most
effective way would be to build the wall in a "zigzag" manner
with 30-degree angles.
The final round of the annual contest, organized by the
Ministry of National Education, began on Wednesday at Hotel
Wisata. Each of the 26 finalists were summoned to defend their
paper before a 10-member jury.
The jury picked six winners from among the 27 finalists,
shortlisted from 561 contestants who submitted research papers.
None of the winners came from Jakarta.
Cucun Rohedi of the state senior high school SMUN 13 in
Subang, West Java, won first prize for the high school category.
His paper examined the history of the surrender of the Dutch
colonial forces to the invading Japanese military in the 1940s at
Kalijati airbase in his home town.
Cucun told The Jakarta Post his research was prompted by his
love for the country and its history. The Dutch surrender at
Kalijati airbase was a major international event, he said.
Prof. Andi Hakim Nasution of the Bogor Agriculture Institute,
who headed the jury panel, praised the finalists for their
efforts.
"I could not do what they have done," he said.
The other four winners were Bayu Yudistira of SMUN 2 Bandung,
West Java; a joint project by students from SMUN 1 in Meulaboh,
Aceh; Muhammad Faris from SLTP 1 Laren, Lamongan East Java; Yety
Asriyanti from SLTPN 1, Selong, Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara. (01)