Papua, Aceh students win astronomy Olympiad
Papua, Aceh students win astronomy Olympiad
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While fellow Papuans in Yahukimo regency are still in the grip of
famine, two students from the country's easternmost province won
the inaugural Asian Pacific Astronomy Olympiad (APAO) in Siberia,
Russia, recently.
Eric Gibson S. Rumainum took the Olympiad's Best Result prize
for the 13-year-old age group, while his schoolmate Geraldo E.
Tegouch finished second.
Both are students of the YPJ Kuala Kencana junior high school
in Timika, which was established by U.S.-based mining giant PT
Freeport Indonesia.
The competition concluded on Sunday.
Indonesia won another top prize through Stefani Herli of State
Senior High School No. 12 in Jakarta, who came home with the Best
Result in the Practical Round for the 16 to 17-year-old age
group.
"She (Stefani) took the prize due to her flawless practical
test," the Indonesian team statement said.
A student from the tsunami-hit province of Aceh also brought
pride to her country after winning the bronze medal in her
category. Zulfikar of State Senior High School No. 10 in Banda
Aceh made a podium finish in the age group dubbed the most
demanding division.
The victories came as another group of future Indonesian
scientists emerged the overall winners from the second
International Junior Science Olympiad in Yogyakarta. In the
competition, which wound up on Monday, Indonesia bagged six gold
medals.
Indonesia sent four senior high and four junior high school
students to the astronomy Olympiad. Half of them came from Papua,
with the rest from Maluku, South Sulawesi, Aceh and Jakarta.
Prior to their departure, they received special tutelage from
experts at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)'s School of
Astronomy. They also practiced at the Bosscha Observatory in
Lembang, near Bandung, and at the Jakarta Observatory for six
weeks.
Accompanying the team were Dr. Chatief Kunjaya and Dr. Hakim
Malasan from the ITB.
Their participation was made possible by the financial support
of a number of companies, including PT Freeport Indonesia,
ExxonMobil and Medco Energy.
Indonesia, China, Korea, Kazakhstan and Russia are the
founders of the APAO, which is the regional heat of the
International Astronomy Olympiad (IAO). Both events are organized
by the Euro-Asian Astronomical Society.
APAO was introduced this year to provide more opportunities
for students from Asia and the Pacific to compete in
international events. Therefore, the APAO denies entry to
students who participate in the IAO in the same year.