Banda Aceh – (27 February 2023) Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK) held an open session of the academic senate in the context of inaugurating a Professor. The session was led by the Chair of the USK Senate Prof. Dr. Ir. Abubakar, M.Sc. The inauguration was held at the AAC Dayan Dawood Building. The confirmed names are Prof. Dr. Ir. Normalina Arpi, M.Sc, Prof. Dr. Ir. Ashabul Anhar, M.Sc, Prof. Dr. Ichwana, ST, M.P, and Prof. Dr. Ir. Hamdani, M.T and Prof. Dr. drh. Sugito, M.Sc.
In his remarks, the Chancellor of Syiah Kuala University said that the success of achieving a functional professor position had increased the number of professors at Syiah Kuala University. The growth rate of the number of professors born on the USK campus has been consistently maintained even due to the Covid 19 pandemic a few years earlier.
Currently, Syiah Kuala University already has 122 professors spread across almost all faculties at USK. The Chancellor hopes that all of the new USK professors can make important contributions to the campus and society and can take part optimally according to their respective expertise which is shown for the benefit of humanity and the nation. One of the professors who has worked for the benefit of the nation with his expertise is Prof. Dr. Ir. Normalina Arpi, M.Sc has made various efforts in developing technology in agricultural products and the use of agricultural waste.
Then Prof. Dr. Ir. Ashabul Anhar, M.Sc with his expertise in finding strategies to maintain Arabica coffee production in the Gayo highlands. With the disruption of global coffee production due to climate change, Prof. Anhar answered by finding ways to increase coffee productivity through intensification and application of coffee cultivation that is adaptive to climate change with agroforestry patterns and increasing harmonious relations between cooperatives and building social forestry patterns. Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Ichwana, S.T., M.P. dedicates his thoughts to the management of land and water resources in agricultural development. Prof. Dr. Ichwana, S.T., M.P. applied the concept of ecohydrology after seeing the suboptimal completion of water and land treatment. This concept integrates 4 elements such as water, biodiversity, community ecosystem services and climate change resilience, and human impacts for environmental resilience.
Then, Prof. Dr. Ir. Hamdani, M.T. Chancellor of Universitas Samudra (UNSAM) also dedicates his knowledge to saving the environment by placing his research on energy efficiency in buildings with phase-changing materials. This study is very relevant considering that Indonesia is the largest energy consumer in Southeast Asia, which uses almost as much energy as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore combined. Prof.’s study Dr. Ir. Hamdani, M.T. pointed out that the consumption of electrical energy in buildings for the use of air conditioning, lighting, and water supply is the biggest contributor to energy in the commercial sector. In his brilliant idea, UNSAM Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ir. Hamdani, M.T. found that the use of a certain class of Phase Change Material (PCM) heat storage material placed on the surface of the building succeeded in storing heat energy in the walls or other components in the building. This will be able to maintain the indoor temperature to the desired temperature throughout the day and most importantly, the load on the cooling machine will be kept to a minimum, which will lead to efficient energy use. So Prof’s research. Dr. Ir. Hamdani, M.T. is very important and we should appreciate it. This finding is one way to suppress excessive energy use. If these findings are disseminated and realized, they will have a major impact on energy use in Indonesia.
Finally, Prof. Dr. drh. Sugito, M.Si studies the impact of global warming, especially on the livestock sector. Prof. Dr. drh. Sugito, M. Si found the use of phytogenic additives derived from plants with high anti-oxidant content that can help prevent and improve the effects of heat stress on livestock. Prof.’s study Dr. drh. Sugito, M.Si made an important contribution to encouraging livestock productivity while remaining environmentally friendly amid the threat of global warming. (UNSAM PR)