10 World-Class Inventors from Indonesia

In addition to its natural wealth, Indonesia is also known for the intellectuality of their people, who have made inventions and innovations known throughout the world. Next, we have 10 great inventors from Indonesia, amongst thousands of others.

1.Tjandramukti

The researcher of tropical farm and one of the pioneers of mixed farming has lived almost all his life in this village. In 2000 he founded a variety of new soybean which has high productivity, up until 3.4 ton per hectare (one of the highest rates in tropical areas, by international measures). This number is big, especially if compared to the average national result (1.3 ton per hectare). The soybean is relatively large, with high protein level (43.9 %), short life span (72 days) and it can adapt well in the tropics if it is planted with best practice, the technique which he’s developing. For years, he have managed to purify it in a controlled state and creating two varieties of high quality soybeans. The first variety has been handed over to the local government and it has been listed as national high quality soybean under the name of Grobogan Soybean. Meanwhile, the other variety has not yet been listed. In addition to the soybeans, he also found the concept of communal bio-pore holes to obtain more rainwater in the fields. He has also created an optimalization method for subtropical plants in the tropical area, such as cassava, corn and soybean.

2.Mujair

Mujair is the name of a man who founded a certain type of fish in 1939. The fish was then named after him, at the Serang River, Blitar. He managed to breed a fish who wasn’t native to Indonesia and its popularity continues to improve until now. Even more, Mujair managed to breed a saltwater fish and turned it into a river fish!

3. Prof. Poorwo Soedarmo

Everyone knows what is 4 Sehat 5 Sempurna. It is a very memorable slogan and it has helped in improving the health of Indonesian people. The slogan, or concept to be more exact, was created by a notable character who was born in Malang, 1904, named Poorwo Soedarmo.

4.Tjokorda Raka Sukawati

He is the founder of Sosrobahu method. This supporting system lies in line with the road which is being built, and it can be rotated easily. The system saves a lot of space and it prevents traffic jam if there is another road lying under the road which is currently being built.

5. Prof. Ir. R.M. Sedyatmo 

The alumnus of ITB (1934) founded the chicken claw (cakar ayam) foundation in 1962. The foundation system allows us to build upon unstable surface, like the runway of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Jakarta) and other buildings all over the world.

6. Mukibat

Mukibat is a humble farmer from Kediri. In 1950, he founded a revolutionary system in planting cassava. He placed the bark of rubber tree on top of regular cassava. The technique is called grafting. After it is planted, the result is quite extraordinary. With repeated planting system, a cassava tree can produce up to 5 times its original results. To honor him, the international society is naming the system as Mukibat system, even though at the moment there are a lot of people who claim this system as theirs, with slight modifications.

7. B.J. HABIBIE

Habibie is one of the biggest inventors in Indonesia. He is the person who founded the Theory, Factor and Habibie Method (Aircraft Technology).

8. Michael Iskandar a.k.a Om Chia

He founded the Big Bang machine which was once used and became the favorite of Valentino Rossi. In 1949, Om Chia became a Suzuki racer. His loyalty in this profession created maximum results. Finally, in the 60s Om Chia moved to another direction, by becoming a mechanic. Ever since, his career continue to skyrocket and he continue to innovate and support the racing industry in Indonesia. In addition as a Suzuki racer back in 1949, he became a part of the research team for Suzuki in 1963. He was also the man behind the success of Indonesian motorcycle race. He passed away in May 4, 2010.

9. Prof. Dr. Khoirul Anwar

Prof. Dr. Khoirul Anwar is the patent owner of 4G telecommunication system (with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing as the basic). He is an Indonesian who is currently working at Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan. Khoirul graduated from Electro Engineering in ITB with a cum laude in 2000. He obtained his master and doctoral degree from Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) in 2005 and 2008. He received IEEE Best Student Paper award of IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS) in 2006, California, USA.

10. Mr. Minto

It all started when Minto (48) thought that one day, all of oil and wood from the forest and will be perished. The teacher of Prambon Elementary School (Dagangan, Madiun, East Java) then thought about making a stove with solar power. They year was 1986. His knowledge about the characters of lens and the way the lens absorbs heat made it easier for him to create the solar powered stove. Minto admits that the stove, with its double functions, is not entirely practical. “We need further adjustments to make it more practical,” he says. Minto’s stove is not only used by his neighbors, but also by his buyers. Will CGI, World Bank, ADB or UNDP help funding Minto’s brilliant ideas?