Dr. Suyanta (64) looked joyful after being inaugurated as a professor in inorganic chemistry at the UGM Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA UGM) on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, at the UGM Senate Hall. He continuously expressed gratitude for finally attaining the highest academic title of professor.
In his inauguration speech, Professor Suyanta shared that he came from a modest family living in Bayat, Klaten.
From elementary school, he was accustomed to gathering grass and herding cattle to help his parents on the farm.
Even in junior high school, he had worked as a street vendor, carrying a thermos of ice candy to sell as he walked from village to village.
“At that time, if I sold everything, I earned 50 rupiahs. As a farmer’s child, my friends and I used to cultivate vacant land along the Dengkeng River, which we planted with secondary crops,” he recalled.
At the beginning of his studies at FMIPA UGM in 1980, he cycled every Monday morning from Bayat, Klaten, to the UGM Campus.
Cycling an approximately 40 km distance took 3 hours. On Saturdays, he would also ride back to Bayat, Klaten.
“These are some of my memories and background, and it is unimaginable that today I can be inaugurated as a professor at UGM,” he said, with tears in his eyes.
Delivering his professorial speech titled “Mesoporous Silica MCM-41: Research Developments and Applications,” Professor Suyanta discussed the potential of MCM-41 for future research and development.
He noted that mesoporous silica MCM-41 holds promise for research and development, particularly in addressing CO2 issues.
He explained that greenhouse gases have a significant impact on global warming.
The most commonly used CO2 capture system on a large scale in industrial gas emissions is selective adsorption using liquid amines, such as monoethanolamine or diethanolamine.
Currently, solid adsorbent CO2 capture systems are being extensively studied.
In another part of his speech, he revealed that mesoporous silica is highly promising for use as a drug delivery system.
The large surface area of the pores allows the particles to be filled with drugs or cytotoxins.
“Certain types of cancer cells will absorb more particles than healthy cells, so researchers hope that MCM-41 will one day be used to treat specific types of cancer,” he explained.
At the end of his speech, Professor Suyanta expressed his gratitude to many teachers, friends, and colleagues who supported him in achieving the title of professor.
It was an achievement he could not have imagined coming from a small farming family.
“I want to express my gratitude to Allah SWT, the Most Holy and Most Great, who has guided and facilitated my life’s journey,” he said at the end of his inauguration speech.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Photographer: Donnie
Post-editor: Lintang