LESSONS IN SUSTAINABILITY IN INDONESIA
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hen Jakarta, Indonesia-native Justinus Satrio, PhD, was awarded a scholarship to pursue his college education in the United States, he chose to study in Iowa. “I thought since it was in the middle of the country it would be close to everything,” he explains. While the location did not meet his expectations where ease of traveling was concerned, Iowa did turn out to be the ideal setting to begin research into biofuels, a topic that bloomed while he was a student. Today, as an associate professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Villanova University, Dr. Satrio puts his education and experience to work in the lab, classroom and field—both here in the United States and in his home country. In the College of Engineering, in addition to teaching traditional chemical engineering courses, Dr. Satrio teaches courses in biomass conversion and sustainable development and leads undergraduate and graduate student researchers in his Biomass Resources & Conversion Technologies laboratory. His interest lies in the development of processes that utilize bio-renewable materials for producing energy, fuels and chemicals to reduce society’s reliance on non-renewable carbon sources. In 2017, working with Villanova’s Office of Education Abroad and Villanova Engineering Service Learning, Dr. Satrio launched a summer program that combines his passion for sustainability with his love for Indonesia, which is rich with biomass resources and is rapidly growing in terms of population, economy and innovation. The program gives Villanova students the opportunity to experience living in Indonesia while doing research and taking part in service internships on topics related to the agroindustry. The key to the program’s success has been a collaboration with Bogor Agricultural University in Bogor, West Java province, the country’s leading institution for the study of agriculture and forestry. This past summer, six College of Engineering students— representing Chemical, Civil, Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering—traveled with Dr. Satrio to Java and Bali, Indonesia, for a six-week experience in “Sustainable Engineering for International Development.” The program began with an internship with PT Swen Inovasi Transfer in Bogor, where the students learned about biogas technologies and integrated farming. It was followed by a two-week summer course at BAU on Sustainable Agroindustry for Rural Communities, which was attended
Dr. Satrio (second from right) with students and Cao Chocolates’ staff members.
by 21 students from six countries. Students were taught process fundamentals at BAU’s campus in the first week, followed by a field study in Baturraden, Central Java, where they learned—hands on—the production of clove and patchouli oils, from plant production to the oil extraction processes. After the course, students traveled to Bali to intern with Cau Chocolates, where they worked with the company in improving the sustainability of cacao production and processing. Last year, a solar drying system for cocoa beans become a senior capstone design project for Mechanical Engineering students. The solar dryer prototype was tested by students during this visit and they subsequently proposed design improvements. At the end of the internship, Villanova Engineering students returned home to the United States, while Dr. Satrio stayed behind for another two weeks to participate in Indonesia’s annual international conference on biomass, in which he plays a leading role. Working with BAU, Dr. Satrio has planned the 2020 Indonesia summer course-internship program, which he hopes will include the participation of Villanova science students in addition to engineering majors and students from other US universities. When asked about the overarching goal of the program, Dr. Satrio explains that while the academic objective is for participants to learn the concepts and engineering approaches to sustainable design and development around the water, energy and food nexus in the developing world, the Indonesia program also benefits students in more abstract ways. “It calls on them to develop cultural fluency, flexibility, adaptability, humility, patience and an ability to listen to others when addressing global issues,” says Dr. Satrio. “I want to immerse them in this culture and allow them to explore. When less is dictated and there’s not one correct answer, students rise to the occasion and put the pieces together themselves.” He adds, “Given its diversity and incredible growth, Indonesia is a good place to help the University produce graduates who possess global perspectives and an informed respect for the differences among peoples and cultures.”
