ITS Campus, ITS News — Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) lecturer Sri Fatmawati SSi MSc PhD once again made her alma mater proud by winning an international award through research in natural material chemistry. This time, the lecturer at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics (FSAD) ITS won a prestigious award called the Dr Willmar Schwabe Award 2024 which was handed over directly in Krakow, Poland, last Monday (15/7).

The Dr Willmar Schwabe Award is a biennial award given by the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA). The award targets young scientists dedicated to outstanding pharmacological or clinical research in the field of medicinal plants and natural materials. In addition to symbolic appreciation, the winner of this award also receives a prize of €10,000.

At the event, which coincided with the International Congress of the Medicinal Plants and Natural Materials Research Association, the woman who is often called Fatma came out as the sole winner. This achievement also made Fatma the first Indonesian woman to win this prestigious title. “Through this forum, I also had the opportunity to present my research results in front of 1,200 congress participants from all over the world,” said Fatma proudly.

Sri Fatmawati SSi MSc PhD shows the Dr Willmar Schwabe Award 2024 trophy that she won.

In the selection process, the Deputy Head of the ITS Agri-food and Biotechnology Research Centre explained that he was asked to submit a maximum of three publications that had been published over the past three years and his portfolio. The judges consisted of the President and Vice President of the Medicinal Plants and Natural Materials Research Association, the Editor-in-Chief of Planta Medica, and representatives from Dr Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co.

The lecturer from the Chemistry of Natural Materials and Synthesis Laboratory (KIBAS), ITS Department of Chemistry, explained that in her research on natural materials chemistry, she focuses on topics related to herbal medicine. “In this topic, I study various things related to improving the quality of ingredients, bioactivity of herbal medicine making technology, empowering farmers’ resources to industrial collaboration,” he explained.

In more detail, Fatma revealed that she has successfully published more than 50 papers in international journals and accumulated an impressive 2,601 citations. Through her dedication, Fatma has made significant contributions to the discovery of chemical content in Indonesian traditional medicines. Not only that, Fatma also managed to prove the pharmacological relevance, identify the bioactivity of local herbal plants, and empower other female farmers and researchers.

Through this award, Fatma claimed to be even more encouraged to contribute to research that has an impact on the benefit of the wider community. In the future, the winner of more than 30 prestigious awards hopes that the younger generation, especially women researchers, will continue to strive to develop research in their fields. “Because dedicated scientists are pillars for the progress and welfare of the nation,” she concluded. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Shafa Annisa Ramadhani
Translator: I Gusti Agung Jaya Hiswara