Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMNS) was founded on September 7th, 1955 and inaugurated by the former Vice President of Republic of Indonesia, Drs.Mohammad Hatta and former Minister of Education and Culture, Prof. Ir. Soewandi.
Due to the regional conflict, the faculty was closed in 1958 and reopened in 1962 initiated by Biology Department. Department of Pharmacy and Department of Chemistry were respectively established in 1964 and 1965 and two more departments, Physics and Mathematics, were opened in 1996.
Four departments have been accredited, i.e. Pharmacy, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics Departments. Besides undergraduate programs, FMNS has also graduate programs in Chemistry, Biology and Pharmacy. It offers Apothecary Certification program. The Department of Pharmacy supervises the operation of the private college of pharmacy in Riau, Jambi and Palembang provinces.
To be able to compete in global labor market, the students are equipped with skills and competency. In addition to their fields of study, FMNS also provides the students with English and computer skills. The administration of FMNS encourages the department to conduct classes in English as an embryo for the international class wherein 75% of courses are conducted in English. This class has been conducted since 2002 by the Chemistry Department.
FMNS has 208 teaching staff members, with the qualification of PhD (41), Master (120) Bachelor (47), and Professors (18). To improve the quality of teaching staff, the faculty encourages and facilitates them to take Master and PhD in Indonesia as well as abroad. Currently, 52 of them are accomplishing their PhD and M.Sc studies.
Among the teaching staff earning the award are Prof.Dr Dayar Arbain who received King Bouduin Award (1993), Convocation Award (1993), and Who’s Who in The World 1999; and Prof.Dr. Edison Munaf in “Who and Who in the World”, 7th edition (1983), 11th Edition (1997) Marquish Publisher USA, and National Outstanding Lecturer No. III of Indonesia University Lecturer competition.
Each year, staff members in the FMNS successfully obtain grants from various sources. The grants come from different sources such as Minister of National Education, Minister of Research and Technology, Andalas University, Special Research Grant from Vice-President RI, UNESCO, WWF, World Bank, Kehati, ODA, IFS, JICA, etc.
Researches in Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science include pure and applied researches and researches for development. Most of the researches are carried out in the area of biological resources, chemistry and bioactivity of medicinal plants, environmental analysis, chemistry of natural product, statistic and electronic instrument.
To promote researches and exchanges with other scientific communities, the FMNS organizes several activities such as workshop, national and international seminars. Regional Seminar and Workshop on Photochemical Survey in Natural Products of Chemistry were held in 1984 and 1987. The 1989 National Congress on Biology was organized by Biology Department. The seminar on “The Role of Chemistry in Industry and Environment” and “Workshop on Natural Products of Chemistry” has been the annual agenda of Department of Chemistry since 1998 and 2001 respectively. FMNS in collaboration with UNESCO organized “The International Seminar on Chemistry of Rainforest Plants and Their Utilization for Development” in 1992, 1996, and 2001. Since 1992, the Department of Chemistry has organized an annual national seminar on chemistry in industry and environment, under various topics/themes.
FMNS has established cooperation in education and research with several national and international institutions, i.e. The University of Western Australia, The University of Melbourne, Gifu University, Shimane University, Universite de Rennes I, Kyoto University, and Universiti Putra Malaysia. This cooperation has granted scholarships to a number of FMNS staff members to pursue some degrees at some universities abroad.
Collaborations in researches between FMNS and industries such as PT Semen Padang, PT. Indofarma, PT. Kimia Farma, BATAN, BPPT, LEMIGAS, and local government have always been nurtured. They are aimed at developing local economy and improving the applicability of FMNS research to the actual need of industries.
FMNS is provided with more than 40 laboratories and several biology research fields. At present, it has four Centers of Studies i.e. The Sumatra Natural Study Center, The Medicinal Plants Research Center, The Natural Resources Research Center, and The Chemistry of Natural Products Research Center. The Botanical Garden of Andalas University, which includes The Forest of Biological Research and Education, Arboretum, and Medicinal Plants Garden, are managed by FMNS staffs.
FMNS publishes three accredited National scientific journals, i.e. Jurnal Sains dan Teknologi Farmasi / Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, published by Pharmacy Department, Chemistry Journal of Andalas / Jurnal Kimia Andalas published by Chemistry Department; and Jumpa / Journal of Mathematics and Natural Science published by Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
The Herbarium of Andalas University / ANDA, managed by the Department of Biology, has an extensive collection of plants from all over Sumatra Island especially West Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi Provinces. The number of specimens amounts to 65.000. This unit supports academic and research activities for students and staffs at FMNS as well as for other institutions.
Up to now, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has 3,805 graduates and 894 Apothecaries. They occupy different kinds of job, i.e. lecturer, teacher, researcher, civil servant, entrepreneur, industrialist, and so on. Among them are Drs.Sjofiarman Tarmizi, the Marketing Director of Kimia Farma Company, Drs. Rozyan Yazid, Financial Director of BATAN, Director of Tripolyata, Drs Mulyadi, MBA, Director of Molinev, Dr. Zainal Lamid, the Head of Agricultural Technology Research Center / BPTP.
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