FMIPA UI Students Win 3 Achievements at EUREKA! ITB 2024

Five students of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI), from the Undergraduate Physics Study Program, class of 2023, brought home a number of prestigious achievements in the EUREKA! ITB 2024 event, which was held at the Center for Research and Community Services, ITB Campus, Bandung, on 27-29 September 2024.

The five consisted of Ahmad Amartia Nurfiqri as the 1st Place Winner in the Physics Olympiad category, followed by Rafi Suryo Saputro as the Finalist winner in the same category. Meanwhile, three other fellow students, namely Chylla Hafiz, Steven Wijaya Lim, and Muhammad Nauval Ferry Widya Akmal who are members of the Aeternum team, added to the long list of achievements by successfully winning 3rd place in the Scientific Writing category, through a scientific paper entitled "High Sensitivity Microbial Detection Sensor and Fast Response Based on Gold Nanoparticles".

Ahmad told the FMIPA UI Public Relations team that in the Physics Olympiad category, he had to face a series of questions related to physical problems, which challenged logic, and solve the questions by applying basic physics concepts.

"We, the participants, were given physics problems that were quite challenging to logic, and we were required to explore critical thinking skills to solve physics problems that are not necessarily encountered in regular lectures," said Ahmad.

EUREKA! ITB 2024, Ahmad continued, was the first college-level Olympiad he had participated in. He admitted that he was not yet familiar with the type of Olympiad questions, so for him it was a challenge.

However, his love for physics made Ahmad optimistic in working on the competition questions. By relying on his learning experience in college in the physics study program of FMIPA UI, diligently practicing questions, plus diligently discussing with friends in the same field of science in between lectures, Ahmad was then able to overcome difficulties during the competition.

"The most important thing in my opinion is to utilize my experience in physics. From attending lectures, practicing questions, discussing with friends, participating in competitions, all of which will form experiences that can then be used when encountering new things," he added.

In addition, Ahmad continued, the guidance given by Dr. Adam Badra Cahaya, a lecturer at FMIPA UI with expertise in Theoretical Physics of Condensed Matter, also helped him a lot in preparing for the competition. As preparation, under the guidance of Dr. Adam and the team, Ahmad practiced questions related to classical mechanics, electrodynamics, modern physics and quantum.

Meanwhile, Chylla Hafiz, the head of the Aeternum team explained that the main idea in her scientific work is that gold nanoparticles have unique optical properties, in the form of the Tyndall effect and Surface Plasmon Resonance, which can be used as microbial detection sensors. The bacteria studied were E. coli microbacteria in food products.

"The main objective of our scientific work is to detect microbacteria in food, which can cause various diseases in the community. By conducting in-depth analysis of microbacterial contamination in food products, at least we can prevent the spread of disease and ensure the safety of food consumption," said Chylla.

Dean of FMIPA UI, Prof. Dede Djuhana, Ph.D appreciated the achievements of the five students. He said, “This achievement reflects the spirit of collaboration and innovation that we always encourage at FMIPA UI. We believe that research and competitions like this not only hone students’ academic abilities, but also prepare them to become future scientists and leaders who can provide solutions to challenges faced by society. I hope this achievement can inspire other students to continue to excel and develop their potential in the fields of science and technology. Keep working and innovating.”

EUREKA! ITB is a National Physics Competition for High School and College Levels, consisting of Physics Olympiad, Scientific Writing Competition, and various other competitions. EUREKA ITB is organized by the Semi-Autonomous Body EUREKA ITB under the ITB Physics Student Association since 2016.

The theme raised in the EUREKA! ITB 2024 Olympiad is in line with the main theme, namely "Problem-Solving Throughout The Physics Multiverse". This theme explains the various universes that are different from each other, which are associated with branches of physics, then all of them form a multiverse. These branches of physics are related to the Scientific Groups (KK) in Physics ITB, including High Energy Theoretical Physics, Magnetic and Photonic Physics, Advanced Technology and Materials Physics, Nuclear Physics and Biophysics, Earth Physics and Complex Systems, Instrumentation and Computational Physics.

Meanwhile, the Scientific Writing category emphasizes the creativity of participants in creating new innovations and self-development facilities in conducting Research and Development. Scientific Writing EUREKA! ITB 2024 carries the theme "The Physics Multiverse". A concept where there are six multiverses, each universe only focuses on developing one type of physics scientific group.