Three IPB Professors Unveil Innovations to Tackle Global Challenges

Three IPB University professors have presented research findings offering solutions to global challenges in the fields of food, health, and the environment through scientific orations held at the IPB Dramaga Campus in Bogor Regency, West Java. During an online press conference ahead of the scientific oration on Thursday, Professor of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Julie Ekasari, highlighted the importance of improving aquaculture efficiency through the concept of nutritional ecology. According to Julie, Indonesia, as the world’s third-largest aquaculture producer, needs to start focusing on nutrient management efficiency, not just increasing production volume. She explained that the nutritional ecology concept views feed, cultured organisms, microorganisms, and the environment as one interconnected system, so that nutrients can be utilised more efficiently to increase productivity while reducing environmental impact. Meanwhile, Professor of the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Endang Prangdimurti, emphasised that the benefits of healthy food are not only determined by its active compound content, but also by the ability of these compounds to survive the digestive process and be absorbed by the body. Through in vitro digestion techniques, Endang said, researchers can evaluate the bioaccessibility of food components more quickly and efficiently before conducting tests on animals or humans. “The benefits of food do not stop at its content, but are determined by what is available and utilised by the body after digestion,” she said. Professor of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Charlena, presented the potential of apatite compounds as functional materials to address challenges in health and the environment. According to Charlena, hydroxyapatite and fluorapatite can be used as bone implant materials, metal implant coatings, and absorbers of heavy metals such as lead and chromium in polluted environments. She added that the development of apatite-based composite materials also has the potential to support health technology as well as environmental remediation. Through these three scientific orations, the IPB University professors affirmed the importance of strengthening research and innovation as a foundation for technology development to support food security, improved health quality, and environmental sustainability amidst global challenges.