Dr. Dwi Siswanta was officially inaugurated as a professor in chemistry at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FMIPA UGM), on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, at the Senate Hall of the UGM Central Office.
In his inaugural address, titled “Biopolymer Engineering for Sustainability: Green Innovations for the Environment, Food, and Health”, he elaborated on key points in the field that intersect with analytical chemistry and environmental chemistry.
According to Professor Siswanta, one of the pressing issues today is water pollution caused by hazardous pollutants.
“We are facing increasingly complex global challenges in the fields of environment, food, and health,” he said.
Observing that conventional treatment technologies often fail to remove contaminants at trace concentrations, especially when pollutants occur in complex mixtures, he argued that biopolymer engineering offers a strategic and innovative solution to sustainability challenges.
Biopolymers have emerged as strategic materials that can be engineered for various functions, including as biosorbents.
Biosorbents are biodegradable, derived from renewable biomass, and more cost-effective.
However, the natural capabilities of biopolymers are often insufficient for practical applications.
Structural engineering is therefore required to optimize adsorption performance, enhance selectivity, and broaden cross-sector applications.
This engineering approach involves several modifications that design biosorbents with superior functional characteristics, making them part of a multifunctional, adaptive, and interdisciplinary biopolymer engineering paradigm.
In addition, integrating the principles of green chemistry and nanotechnology forms an essential foundation for the development of biopolymer-based systems.
“Green chemistry refers to the concept of using renewable materials, atom efficiency, toxicity reduction, and the design of products that are biodegradable,” he explained.
Meanwhile, nanotechnology opens opportunities to optimize biopolymer performance down to the nanometer scale, a process that expands specific surface areas, evens out the distribution of active sites, and strengthens interactions with target molecules.
Professor Siswanta believes that biopolymer engineering not only creates material products but also offers an inclusive, regenerative, and responsive platform for innovation that addresses the challenges of the times.
He further noted that the future research prospects in this field are highly promising, while emphasizing that biopolymer engineering is also a moral and ecological responsibility.
“We hope the technologies we develop will continue to advance and expand, particularly to address the needs of areas lacking access to clean water, food protection, or environmental monitoring. It is in those quiet corners that science must be present,” he concluded.
Author: Alena
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna
Photographer: Donnie Trisfian