BRIN appoints five new cross-disciplinary research professors spanning biology to nuclear energy

Jakarta — The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) on Thursday appointed five new cross-disciplinary research professors in an effort to strengthen the capacity and capability of Indonesia’s research ecosystem.

The five professors are N. Sri Hartati (Molecular Plant Biology Expert), Istiana Hermawati (Poverty Alleviation and Community Empowerment Expert), Anastasia Wheni Indrianingsih (Environmentally Friendly Organic Chemistry Expert), Rahmat Arief (Remote Sensing Expert), and Syaiful Bakhri (Nuclear Energy Applications Expert).

‘Congratulations; may this be a good start. A professorship is certainly not the end of a career, but it marks the beginning for us to explore areas we have not yet known,’ he said.

Arif emphasised that the professors should not merely be consumers of research agendas, but should be the shapers of national, even global, research agendas.

‘How these professors will steer the direction of our research in the future will be based on two pillars: the strength of intellect and logic, and the strength of values,’ he said.

The former rector of IPB University stressed the values of justice, humanity, and sustainability to be noted by the research professors.

‘Those values, I think, are currently particularly important. So that we can continue to transform our research outputs, grounded in our science, for greater impact,’ he added.

Arif also urged the appointees to be role models for young researchers and to remain motivated to carry out research on Indonesia’s path to Golden Indonesia 2045.

He said the professors must guide Indonesia to remain confident in the wealth of the nation. ‘Confidence in our outlook, in our wealth, in the wealth of our cultural values, and in the wealth of realities that exist in Indonesia, and that could become a model for enriching the global appetite for knowledge,’ said Arif Satria.