Objects at home
Year: 2010
It is indeed a very difficult to be a famous scientist
Awareness of the need to hard work
A professor from Japan told me the reason why workers in Japan and Singapore work harder than workers in other countries. It is because they are aware of the importance of hardworking — since they realized that their countries do not have enough natural resources. This awareness is believed as a driving force for the hardworking culture.
In November 2008, I attended a training on the electron microscope conducted at JEOL company factory in Tachikawa, Tokyo. During training, I felt the spirit and hardworking of Japanese workers. This training was also attended by three other participants from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Mr. Kenji Ohara, our trainer from JEOL, amazed to know that the laboratory at King Saud University is opened only from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. At Hokkaido University and the National University of Singapore, two prestigious universities in the world, the laboratories are opened for 24 hours. So, what about us?
The mentality of professors
The assistant professor, associate professor, and professor are teachers. So, the main aim of being a professor is to be a champion in the field of teaching and, of course, research. To me, this is the main task and the core business of a professor. I will be happy if I can manage to educate students who formerly come with a low academic record to be successful in the academic world. It is a challenge and satisfaction as an educator.
I am sad to see students with a low academic record who have the intention and spirit to continue their study can not be accepted as M.Sc. or Ph.D. students by most of the professors. It is because these professors assume that students can not contribute to their prestige as a professor.
So, what is the purpose of being a professor?
Three types of people: past, present and future tenses
[This posting was inspired by facebook status of a friend who is a commissioner of a leading company in Indonesia]
I always find three types of people, as follows:
People who always use the past tense sentence
These people are usually always said to everybody on their achievements of the past. Often, these people are very proud of their origins.
People who always use present tense sentences
These people are very realistic and pragmatic.
People who always use the future tense sentence
These people are usually very ambitious to achieve something. Having a strong impetus for progress. However, sometimes very selfish and only thinking about himself.
A delegation of JAIST visits UTM
Sol-gel is a process that plays an important role as a representative of processing technology for nanomaterials. This conclusion was presented by Prof. Akio Makishima from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), Japan, when delivered a scientific talk at Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies, on 22 February 2010. A scientific talk on research activities toward medical applications being carried out at JAIST was also delivered by Prof. Toshifumi Tsukahara, a professor at the Center for Nanomaterials and Technology, JAIST. The scientific talks were attended by about fifty lecturers, staff and students.
Besides delivering scientific talks, the delegation from JAIST also discussed opportunities of cooperation in the field of nanotechnology and materials science between JAIST and UTM, more specifically with the Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies, Faculty of Science and the Advanced Membrane Technology Research Center. Prof. Makishima said that UTM is the only institution in Malaysia chosen by JAIST to cooperate in the field of education and research.
At the meeting, the two sides have background information on training programs, scientific research to find and promote cooperation. In the coming time, the two sides have desire to the signing of MOU and implementation steps cooperation in education and scientific research.
JAIST was founded in October 1990 as the first independent national graduate school, to carry out graduate education based on research at the highest level in advanced science and technology.
Who’s the authoritarian boss?
The above question will be answered at the end of this posting. What does the authoritarian boss look like? To answer this question, it is necessary to know the characters of the authoritarian boss, i.e.,
- There is no consensus;
- Not willing to accept suggestions from subordinates;
- Self-centered;
- Always ruled;
- Always give sudden job;
- Every decision must be obeyed;
- Possess an absolute power;
- Ignoring suggestions from subordinates;
- Nice to be praised.
Click here to find out who’s the authoritarian boss. At home, we call her “big boss.”
Born in 1969. Online since 1999
I began to know about the Internet when I came to the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in 1995 as a Ph.D. student. In 1999, when I was a postdoctoral fellow at UTM, I created a website at http://www.angelfire.com/mt/hadinur. In 2000, I made a new account at http://www.geocities.com/hadinur when I was a postdoctoral research fellow at Catalysis Research Center, Hokkaido University. After returning to UTM in 2003, I moved my website to http://www.ibnusina.utm.my/~hadi. Then, I moved it to http://www.hadinur.com, which started online on 5 May 2007. In April 2017, I decided to rent a WordPress domain https://www.hadinur.net. After 13 years, 11 months, and 13 days of using Yahoo Small Business as web hosting with the http://hadinur.com domain, I finally decided to cancel my subscription because its service was below my expectation. I now only use the https://hadinur.net domain.
Earthing the university
“… The mission of the university and its commitment are to the present and future generations, safeguarding the prosperity and welfare of the world with the best in education and scientific research. Not just for ‘superficial’ rankings. “
The above statement is probably the ideal mission and goal of universities. However, sometimes that goal has been deviated because of pressure on the universities as ‘economic goods, ‘ which must have the selling point in the market. This issue was raised by Prof. Wiranto Arismunandar (former rector of Institut Teknologi Bandung [ITB]) when giving a speech on the world rank of ITB held in ITB East Hall on May 10, 2008. My attention is attracted by the wisdom thinking of Prof. Wiranto. The following is the first paragraph of his paper, which is translated from Indonesian:
Aspiration of ITB to be World Class University (WCU) is good, but it should not make us worry and panic, because this is not the most important thing. We should be worry if the ITB is useless and can't serve the nation-building of Indonesia. The initiator of WCU ranking must have a particular plan and the various interests, and therefore, no need to worry about that. Business, student intake, political, social, economic, and different other benefits, maybe a few of the many reasons that underlie such interests. It should not make us anxious and vulnerable, trapped, and shackled by the ranking's issue. The most important is, ITB must be useful for the development of Indonesia and also participate in solving problems of this nation. ITB should make itself mainstay and become a national strength to overcome various challenges to make the country prosperous, respected, and independent. ITB should be proud of and preserve the honor of the Indonesian people. That is why we must be more severe in implementing our duties and obligations. Thus we can obtain better results and make continuous improvements. If later ITB achieves recognition as WCU, it will make us more motivated to give the best service to our beloved country. Do not be ambitious to reach high rank, and we will be ashamed if we do not serve the country and do not do anything for the development of Indonesia.
Prof. Akhmaloka, the new Rector of ITB period of 2010-2014, also voiced the same issue. His mission as an ITB rector is to bring the ITB to produce something useful to society by utilizing the local uniqueness of Indonesia.
In conclusion, one suggests that it is more important to “earthing the university” rather than pursuing the prestige ranking because it will provide tangible benefits for society and the country.
Why I reject papers in journals?
As a reviewer in several journals in the field of Catalysis, I have recommended rejecting nearly 80% of manuscripts (of about 30 papers), which were sent to me by the editors in the last two years. Most of the documents submitted were from universities in China. I do not know if this is a coincidence or because so many manuscripts were submitted from the Chinese university. However, I also found that the quality of some papers submitted from leading universities in Europe was low.
The following are the reasons why I do not accept manuscripts for publication:
- Originality. Usually, in a paper that is not original, the results are straightforward to predict.
- Speculation. Discussion and conclusion are not supported by the complete set of accurate data. Because of that, the jump into the conclusion statement was found in the manuscript.
- Logic. The analytical technique used is not appropriate, nor logic in analyzing the data.
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