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.