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Tag: Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember

ITS’ Professor Awarded Prestigious UK Grant

Posted on by ITS Global Engagement

A groundbreaking achievement from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) has once again placed Indonesia on the international research map. Professor Dr. rer. pol. Heri Kuswanto, a leading expert from the Department of Statistics at ITS, has been awarded a prestigious research grant from the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA).

Out of around 120 global submissions, only 21 research proposals were selected by ARIA, and ITS stands proudly as the only institution from Indonesia to receive this honor. With a grant totaling £345,000, Prof. Heri now joins the ranks of researchers from world-renowned institutions such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London.

His research project, titled “Towards Robust and Unbiased Validation of SAI Simulations (TRUSS): Advancing Ensemble Calibration for Reliable Geoengineering Impact Analysis”, aims to tackle a major challenge in climate science, ensuring that simulations used in geoengineering, specifically Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI), are reliable and free from bias. SAI is a form of Solar Radiation Management (SRM), an increasingly discussed technology that involves dispersing particles in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight and reduce global temperatures.

“Current climate models often rely on averaging data across multiple simulations, overlooking the significant variability between models. This leads to biased results and can jeopardize climate policy decisions,” Prof. Heri explained. To address this, the TRUSS project proposes an innovative approach by integrating Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) with machine learning algorithms such as XGBoost. The goal: a more robust and scientifically valid framework for evaluating the impact of SRM. “This isn’t just a technical breakthrough; it will provide crucial scientific evidence to guide future global climate strategies,” he emphasized. The research will focus on Indonesia and Southeast Asia, analyzing how SRM might influence extreme droughts, rainfall patterns, and other regional climate indicators. Model validation will be performed by comparing simulations with historical climate data.

Prof. Heri, who recently participated in the Degrees Global Forum (DGF) 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa, is collaborating with international experts, including Dr. Daniela Visioni from Cornell University (USA) and Dr. Matthew Henry from the UK. The three-year project will also engage two fellow ITS Statistics lecturers and five students from statistics and informatics programs, ensuring strong local capacity building in data science and climate modeling.

Originally from Gresik, Prof. Heri views this grant not only as a personal achievement but also as a testament to Indonesia’s scientific capability on the world stage. “This recognition affirms ITS’ position as a global player in cutting-edge, fundamental research,” he said. The TRUSS project directly contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—most notably Goal 13: Climate Action, Goal 4: Quality Education, and Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals. It strengthens the role of higher education in fostering innovation and global collaboration to safeguard the future of our planet. This achievement also reflects ITS’ growing impact as a world-class research university—a hub where local brilliance meets global challenges.

 

Estimating Ship-hull Roughness Using Laser-based Flow Diagnostics

Posted on by ITS Global Engagement

Biofouling refers to the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, and animals on submerged surfaces, particularly in aquatic environments. In the context of ships, biofouling occurs when these organisms adhere to the hull and other submerged structures, forming a layer of marine growth. This accumulation can have significant adverse effects on a ship’s performance and efficiency. Biofouling increases drag, resulting in higher fuel consumption and operational costs. Additionally, it can reduce the vessel’s speed, maneuverability, and overall hydrodynamic efficiency.

After obtaining a small funding from the Australia-Indonesia Centre (AIC) in 2014, to get to know each other and seek the potential of joint research, Prof. I Ketut Aria Pria Utama from ITS and Prof Jason Monty together with Prof Nick Hutchins from Melbourne University decided to continue the collaboration. Acknowledging the crucial importance of energy conservation in ships and the concept of understanding the growth of boundary layer, Prof Utama, Prof Monty and Prof Hutchins together with Prof Barathram Ganapathisubramani from Southampton University UK submitted a proposal and later received a two-year funding from the Newton Fund in 2015. All of them have similar interest and strong background in fluid mechanics.

The research required a ship for experimentation, and PT. Dharma Lautan Utama, a company owned by an ITS alumnus, generously provided one. During the experiments, the ship’s bottom part was replaced with glass and subjected to laser scans to examine the growth of boundary layer. The movements of the ship were meticulously recorded. The outcomes of this research garnered attention, including coverage by Australian television and the publication of several significant papers, prompting its continuation. This part of research finally ended in 2018.

However, due to the Newton Fund’s one-time funding policy for research on the same topic, Prof. Hutchins as the team leader has seeked further support and finally secured additional funding from the Australian Research Council, covering the period from 2021 to 2025. This time, PT Samudra Indonesia provides a ship to support the research; the current ship sails even farther to the ocean hence the results will be more interesting. The involvement of PT Samudera Indonesia is (by accident) in correlation with the recent MoU between ITS and the biggest shipping companies in the country. Luckily, some of the managers involving in the project, were ITS students in naval architecture. In addition, the project includes a PhD student from Indonesia and funded by LPDP.

As in the first part, the research team has presented the work in prestigious conferences of fluid mechanics in Madrid (Spain) and Washington DC (USA) and received considerable attention because of the use of commercial vessel, which is very unlikely so far. Whilst the research is still progressing, the team is preparing to publish the work to high-ranked journal such as Nature and Physics of Fluid, and other flagship conferences.

ITS launches initiative for MSME packaging and branding

Posted on by ITS Global Engagement

Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) has launched a new initiative called Packaging Design House to provide innovative and inventive solutions for the packaging branding needs of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The launch was held on Wednesday, 8 February 2023, at the ITS Research Center Building in conjunction with the 5th anniversary of the Department of Visual Communication Design. The event was attended by ITS’ Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, Cooperation, and Alumni and the Dean of the Faculty of Creative Design and Digital Business.

ITS’ Packaging Design House is an extension of ITS’ 1,000 Packaging Design Community Service Program that was launched last year. The head of ITS’ Packaging Design House, Mr. Sayatman, explains that the program aims to offer packaging design and branding development services for MSMEs to enhance the selling value of their products and support their growth in Indonesia. The services provided by ITS’ Packaging Design House include not only packaging design but also training programs and mentoring for MSMEs.

Additionally, the Packaging Design House plans to provide tools and machines that can produce packaging on an MSME production scale in the future. The objective of ITS’ Packaging Design House is to support MSMEs with the necessary skills, knowledge, and tools to create eye-catching and effective packaging designs that will help them stand out in a competitive market. With this initiative, ITS is committed to empowering MSMEs and contributing to the growth of Indonesia’s economy.

Nogogeni ITS defends championship title at KMHE 2022

Posted on by ITS Global Engagement

The Nogogeni ITS team, known for producing energy-efficient cars from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), has once again triumphed at the 2022 Energy-Efficient Car Competition (Kontes Mobil Hemat Energi). The team, which represents ITS at the competition, emerged victorious in the Urban Concept Electric Motor category. The announcement was made on Thursday (3/11/2022), following the final round of the competition.

This annual competition is held by the National Achievement Center (Pusat Prestasi Nasional) by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. The General Manager of the Nogogeni Team, Ghalib Fakhrizal explained that the competition requires participants to build cars with the best possible fuel efficiency. After two years of being held online, the KMHE 2022 was held on-site, located in Surabaya, at the Gelora Bung Tomo Circuit (GBT) to be precise.

Since 2015, Ghalib’s Nogogeni team has consistently participated in the Energy-Efficient Car Competition, winning awards in various categories each year. From 2019 to 2022, the team won first place in the Urban Concept Electric Motor category for four consecutive years. This year, the team competed with their Nogogeni VII Evo flagship car in the Urban Concept vehicle category, specifically in the Electric Motor energy class. The competition challenged participants to design a four-wheeled vehicle that is energy-efficient and suitable for street driving, with the race requiring the car to complete eight laps in 25 minutes.

According to Ghalib, the Nogogeni VII Evo was designed to be more aerodynamic and lightweight in order to achieve greater efficiency, which are the two primary factors in its success. The car was evaluated based on its ability to save energy and complete the race quickly, and it finished in under 25 minutes with an energy efficiency rating of 186.56 kilometers per kilowatt hour. As a result, the Nogogeni ITS Team was named the champion of the competition in its category, and Ghalib expressed hope that they will be able to maintain this title in the coming years.

ITS wins Indonesian robot contest KRI 2022

Posted on by ITS Global Engagement

Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) has carved another achievement in the field of robotics and crowned the grand champion in the Kontes Robot Indonesia (KRI), the national robot contest, on July 3rd, 2022, after snapping five winnings in five out of six categories.

KRI is a reputable annual Indonesian robotic contest for students in the field of robot design and engineering held by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. It offers six contest divisions, including the Indonesian ABU Robot, SAR robot, wheeled-soccer robot, humanoid-soccer robot, dance robot, and thematic robot contest. The 2022 KRI was hosted by ITS and participated by 313 teams from 114 universities.

ITS teams proudly brought home four gold and one bronze medals and several awards in the best strategy for humanoid and the wheeled-robot categories. ITS team IRIS collected the gold medals from the Soccer Robot (Wheeled) Contest category, ICHIRO from the Soccer Robot (Humanoid) Contest category, RIVAL, which won the Thematic Robot Contest category, and RIDER team for the category of ABU Indonesia Robot contest. Meanwhile, the bronze medal was presented by ABINARA-1, which won SAR Robot Contest category.

In addition, IRIS, ICHIRO, and RIDER teams were awarded Best Strategy. Team RIVAL was awarded Best Design. The winning was even more remarkable; it made ITS the grand champion for five consecutive years and brought home the back-to-back trophy.