Yohanes Surya: A physicist with many dreams

T Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta

A good physicist, he had a good job at the U.S. Nuclear Physics Center in Virginia; he had even obtained a green card from the government. But Yohanes Surya decided to leave the country and return to Jakarta as he was determined to contribute to the development of physics in Indonesia through education.

"Indonesia has so many clever people. Unfortunately, (their potential) has not been developed," he said.

So, he went home in 1994 and worked hard to train talented children who would join the International Physics Olympiad. And he achieved what he had set out to do as Indonesia has won many gold medals in the event which involves more than 100 countries all over the world. Yohanes, president of the Indonesian Physics Olympiad Team (TOFI), was born in Jakarta on Nov. 6, 1963. The seventh of nine children, he has five sisters and three brothers. His father was a retired soldier while his mother used to sell traditional cookies.

"My parents could feed us, but they could not afford to send us to university," said Yohanes, who often helped his mother make cookies.

After Yohanes graduated from high school, his elder siblings who were working chipped in to support his education at the physics department at the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia. He graduated in 1986 and went to the College of William and Mary, Virginia in the United States. He obtained his master's degree in 1990 and four years later he got his doctorate, both with highest honors.

When he heard in 1992 that the college was organizing an international physics Olympiad, he contacted his friends at the University of Indonesia and later trained five students who were selected to join the competition that took place the following year. Indonesia garnered one bronze medal and an honorable mention.

Indonesia's performance in the competition continues to improve. The Indonesian team grabbed three gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal in the 33rd International Physics Olympiad in Bali in 2002. In the fourth Asian Physics Olympiad 2003 in Bangkok, the team won six medals and two honorable mentions. Last year Indonesia won two gold medals and three bronze medals at the International Physics Olympiad in Spain.

"I am happy, but I have another dream. I want Indonesia to become the world champion," said Yohanes, who has another dream: to see an Indonesian win the Nobel prize in 2020.

Yohanes, who was a lecturer and a researcher for nuclear physics at the post-graduate program of the University of Indonesia (1995-1998), was installed as professor of physics at the School of Science and Mathematics of Pelita Harapan University in Karawaci, Tangerang in 2004. He currently heads the Nanotechnology and Bioengineering Center at the Mochtar Riyadi Center in Lippo Karawaci.

He has written 68 books, including Fisika itu Asyik (Physics is Fun) and last year he helped publish Kuark, a monthly science comic magazine that currently sells 60,000 copies. He is also a consultant for National Geographic Indonesia.

A workaholic, Yohanes usually sleeps between three and four hours a day. In order to maintain his health, he drinks a glass of juice made from four apples and a glass of milk and eats bread in the morning. For lunch, he eats food, which has a high protein content and lots of vegetables.

"I seldom eat in the evening, except if there is an event where the dinner is served," he said.

Yohanes is married with three daughters.

The interview with The Jakarta Post took place at his office in Karawaci on Thursday amid his tight schedule, especially because he had been invited to speak, alongside Noble laureate Douglas Osheroff, at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences on Friday. Question: When did you start to become interested in physics and why? Answer: Since I was in high school. My teacher gave the lesson so cleverly that it made physics an interesting subject. What makes it so interesting?

Physics can explain many mysteries of nature. For example, the rainbow or the black cloud. Why is the cloud black if it is going to rain? It contains a large amount of water drops; they absorb the light but only a little of the light is reflected, therefore the color becomes dark.

Physics also trains our logic and encourages us to make innovations.

Physics should be explained in a simple way. If you really have the knowledge, if you know the concept, you will be able to explain it in a simple way. But if you don't understand the concept, you might make the students confused. How did you find the students to take part in the physics Olympiad and how do you train them?

At the beginning they are selected by the Ministry of National Education. They have to pass the test at the regency and then provincial level. From there we choose 30 students. And then we select eight students to compete in the Asian Physics Olympiad. And finally five students are selected for the international Physics Olympiad.

My eldest daughter, who is in senior high school, is among the 30 students who have been selected to join the competition. Last year she also joined the training center and became one of the big 15. But she could not beat the other participants. I don't know how far she will be able to go this time. If she fails, it is OK. That means that there are other students who can do better than her. How long does the training last?

Thirty students are currently undergoing one month's training. And then, from December to April, we will train eight students who will join the Asian Olympiad. The five students who will be sent to the international Olympiad have to join the training until July 2006. How many hours do the students have to study?

They study from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. But there are students who study until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. Why do they need to study that long? Isn't that too much?

They are smart and there are so many materials to study. We give them materials which are studied by undergraduate and graduate university students. They have an incredible ability and the more you sharpen your brain, the better it is. From what I have learned people on average only use 2 percent of their brain. Einstein used only between 6 percent and 8 percent of his brain. In the international Olympiad, Indonesia is now included in the big five and you have the ambition to make Indonesia number one. How are you going to make this happen?

To become number one, there are several steps to take: First, we search for talented students, starting from the junior high school, and then we train them gradually and intensively. Another way is by opening a super class throughout the country. The students of this class are talented children who are really screened. Jakarta has opened such a super class. It is expected that if everything runs smoothly, in 2007, God's willing, Indonesia will become the world champion. You also have the hope that an Indonesian will win a Nobel prize in 2020. What makes you optimistic?

Now we send many students to study abroad (in prestigious universities) and many of them are students of Nobel laureates. That's why I am optimistic. What's more, we have opened a super class. Next year we will open several other super classes. I have a target to open 10 super classes with some 200 students. They will be sent to study overseas under a scholarship program and are expected to become students of Nobel laureates. Indonesia has had good results in the International Physics Olympiad. What does it mean to you? And what's the benefit for Indonesia?

I am thankful because my efforts of almost 12 years have finally resulted in sweet fruit for Indonesia. With this achievement, Indonesia will be more confident as a nation. And I am happy to know that now there is science fever throughout the country. If physics and other basic sciences become favorite subjects in Indonesia, this will become a good capital for the development of science and technology. Indonesia has many talented people. But why do we still lag behind many other countries?

Indonesia has so many talented people. Unfortunately, their potential skills have not been honed. I am sure that every island has smart students. As we know, two students from Papua became world champions (they won the first step to the Nobel Prize award in 2004). Generally speaking, Indonesia is behind other countries because of the teaching method, which is still far from ideal. We hope that in the future teachers can be trained to teach natural sciences and mathematics in a fun, easy way so that our students become smarter and smarter. What's your philosophy of life?

I want my life to bring advantages to other people. Life is just temporary. How beautiful it will be if we can help many people. It will be better if we can help develop the nation so that our nation gains more respect in the world. What makes you happy?

What makes me happy is when we can help people who are in need of help. I am also happy to see Indonesian children become successful, winning gold medals in the world physics Olympiad. That's beautiful happiness. What makes you sad?

If people misread what we do. Could you elaborate?

For example, because some students selected to join the international physic Olympiad were from private schools, I was asked why I didn't pay attention to state schools. That also happened when the students were of the minority (ethnic group). Is that because you are Christian and of Chinese descent?

Well, it is also because of that. And that makes me very sad. I had worked in America and obtained a green card but I decided to go home. I am really sad if people misjudge me. Why don't we just build (the nation) together. Do you regret your decision to return home?

No. I am also happy because there are more people who support me. What are your hobbies?

I like reading and teaching. I read books on popular physics, popular sciences. But recently I have been reading books on economics, history and philosophy. How many books have you written? And what has been the market reaction?

I have written 68 books, but many of them have not been published. The market reaction is quite good. If I am not mistaken, from 1986 to 1994 almost all high school students in Indonesia used my physics books. Now I am concentrating on writing books on natural sciences and mathematics for elementary school and junior high school. You also publish a magazine. Could you tell us about it?

The magazine, Kuark, is published to make students love natural sciences and to use while studying natural sciences. We also try to make students enjoy natural sciences through animation. With this magazine, we hope that students will become more acquainted with natural sciences and love the sciences more. What does kuark mean?

We used to believe that the smallest particle is an atom. But actually inside the atom, there is the core of atom and inside the core of atom, there is kuark. So, it is the smallest particle. What are your activities now?

I am building a training center for teachers and an Olympiad training center, which I call the International Center for Physics Olympiad. In this center we will train many teachers about how to teach natural sciences/physics and mathematics in a fun way. We are still looking for sponsors for this.

I am also developing nanotechnology and I am still training the Olympiad team at the junior high school and senior high school level. Once you said that using nanotechnology (a technology to manipulate an atom or molecule to produce a new product) you could change coal into gold.

It might be a dream. But it does not mean that it is impossible. It is just a matter of time. Technology develops fast. Maybe in 50 years or 100 years we will be able to do so.