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)