I PENIA KRESNOWATI (JP/Desy Nurhayati)

Even before she studied at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1995 for her bachelor's degree, I Made Tri Ari Penia Kresnowati was very interested in biotechnology and chemical engineering.

Choosing chemical engineering as her major, she enjoyed spending hours a day in the laboratory dealing with research and working with bioreactors.

Her perseverance in exploring new ideas in the field has seen her awarded an international fellowship for her science research proposal on processing living cells to create healthcare products.

Penia, as she is better known, received US$40,000 in financial assistance from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as part of a women-only fellowship program to conduct her research on "Bioprocess Technology: Concept of Bioreactor Prototypes for the Proliferation of Stem Cells".

"For Women in Science", an annual program supported by UNESCO and cosmetics manufacturer L'Oreal, is designed to encourage female scientists worldwide.

"I had never expected that I could achieve this much since this is my first time taking part in an international-class contest," said Penia, 30, who holds a doctoral degree in bioprocess technology from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.

Penia is the only Indonesian to receive the fellowship this year, along with 15 scientists from other countries, out of 1,500 applicants worldwide.

She is the third female scientist from Indonesia to win the fellowship. Ines Atmosukarto from the Biotechnology Research Center at the Indonesian Institute of Science won the fellowship in 2004 and Fenny Dwifani of Bandung Institute of Technology won it last year.

"My research will involve finding the most suitable conditions to proliferate and grow stem cells using bioreactors," she said.

"Once I succeed in developing the cells, I will use them to create affordable health products."

The mother of one-month-old Thaariq Ibrahim and wife of Wawan Dewanto, a lecturer at the ITB School of Business and Management, said she would start her research early next year in the Chemical Engineering department of Monash University, in Melbourne, Australia. She would collaborate with stem cell experts at the Australian Stem Cell Center.

After completing her term in Melbourne, she plans to return to ITB's Chemical Engineering department, where she will become a lecturer and continue her research.

Her husband will go along with her to Melbourne as he has secured a scholarship to undertake a doctoral degree at the same university.

When she was informed of winning the award in January, she said she was a bit worried she might lose the opportunity because she could not attend the awarding ceremony in Paris, France, as she was expecting her baby.

"I was so happy but at the same time worried that I might be withdrawn from the winners' list," she said. "I could not forgive myself if something happened to my baby because of my trip to France. I mean the award could be my lifetime achievement, but my baby means more."

Two weeks after the ceremony, her first child was born.

Penia, born in Bandung on May 5, 1977, is the second child of Balinese father Nyoman Susila and Javanese mother Sukardinah.

As her parents were both lecturers -- her father teaches in the Mathematics department of ITB and her mother in the Mathematics department of Padjadjaran University -- Penia was encouraged to follow their path in the educational field.

She finished her bachelor's degree in 1999 with flying colors, worked as a lecturer's assistant in the Chemical Engineering department at ITB and was married in 2000.

"I was thinking about how I could work in my favorite field, biochemical engineering, but also be able to maintain the responsibility of taking care of my husband. So I chose to be a lecturer and researcher. I think it would be difficult for me to share my time between career and family if I worked in a company."

She said a career and a family life should not contradict each other, and that a woman should not sacrifice either one for the sake of the other.

"I feel lucky to have a great role model like my mother because in my view, she can balance her career and her family life."

In 2000, she moved to the Netherlands with her husband to undertake a magister degree in Biochemical Engineering at Delft University of Technology. After completing the magister in two years, she continued her studies in Bioprocess Technology at the same university.

Finishing her doctoral degree at age 30, she became the youngest lecturer to hold a doctoral degree at the ITB's Chemical Engineering department.

She said a successful life involved "being happy and grateful for everything" achieved.

"But it's not always easy to achieve what we wish for. Like making a research proposal for example, scientists usually have to write and send a pile of proposals before finding out that one or two of their proposals are accepted.

"In my case, I wrote a few proposals before I was granted scholarships for my magister and doctoral degrees.

"The first time is always the hardest, but a person just needs to be persistent to fight for what they dream of."

She has targeted that within the next two years she will be able to complete the preliminary part of her research, that is to invent optimum conditions by which to develop stem cells before continuing to create health products from the cells.

Penia said many Indonesian scientists had brilliant ideas but lacked the confidence to realize their inspirations.

"It's just a pity if their ideas are just on paper. I think funding is not really an issue because I'm sure we can get it if we try hard. Fellowships are everywhere, but the most important thing is to be confident to propose our ideas."

She said scientists could not expect much from the government in terms of funding, because there were still many priorities the government needed to tackle.

Penia said she hoped more Indonesian scientists would compete in international events, to acknowledge that their capabilities were just the same as those from advanced countries.

"Building networks with overseas scientists and research centers is important."

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