Science competition organized to search for Nobel material

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Indonesia is organizing an international science competition called the "First Step to Nobel Prize in Chemistry" in the hopes of helping young local scientists to achieve a Nobel in the future.

The competition, organized by senior Indonesian scientists grouped in the Banten-based Center for The First Step to Nobel Prize in Chemistry, will collect a total of 50 research papers on chemistry from around the globe, which will be graded by a team of international chemistry professors.

"At present Nigeria, Thailand and Taiwan have expressed their intention to participate," said chairman of the organizing committee Sudarko on Thursday, adding that the deadline to submit the papers for the competition was Dec. 31.

He said that a team of 11 students selected from schools across the country was being trained in Jember, Magelang, Malang, Salatiga and Yogyakarta to compete with foreign participants.

He added that the winners would be announced in March of 2006.

The competition initiator, Yohanes Surya, said that the event, would be a perfect forum to groom the country's potential students as future Nobel laureates in science.

"Many Indonesian young scientists won several science Olympiads in recent years, so it is time for us to prepare future Noble prize winners," he said at a media gathering to promote the competition.

According to Yohanes, the nation's young students had always won similar competitions called the First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics since 1999.

He said to get a Nobel prize, Indonesian students would first have to get international acknowledgements to attract the world's attention.

"In order to be a Nobel laureate, one must be educated by a Nobel laureate. The only way to make them willing to educate the country's bright students, is by winning international competitions, so that the Nobel-winning scientists would recognize their potential," said Yohanes, a professor of science and president of the Indonesian Physics Olympiad team.

Winner of the 14th First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics in Poland, Anike Bowaire, said she hoped that such a competition could show how talented the nation's students were.

"When I was in Poland, other students kept asking me about Indonesia and terrorism. Through this event, we can show that we also have brights students aside from the bomb makers," she said.

Professor of Chemistry at Bandung Institute of Technology Euis Holisotan Hakim stressed that the most important thing about the competition, was to give a chance for students to develop a liking for chemistry and science as a whole.

"When they love what they're studying, they will someday apply their knowledge to develop their beloved country," she said.