On Monday, July 6, 2022, the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (FTUI) again awarded a doctorate degree to one of the best FTUI students, Ida Ayu Nyoman Titin Trisnadewi. At the age of 26, Titin was declared graduated from the Doctoral program at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, FTUI after taking his dissertation trial entitled “Development of Phase Change Renewable organic materials based on Natural Wax as Thermal Energy Storage Materials in Buildings”. Under the guidance of the Promoter Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nandy Putra and Co-Promoter Mrs. Eny Kusrini, Ph.D. Titin graduated as one of the youngest Doctoral Program graduates at FT UI and was listed as the 91st Doctor of Mechanical Engineering at UI as well as the 459th doctor of FTUI. He also managed to achieve cum laude predicate with the highest GPA of 4.00.
The dissertation topic raised by Titin relates to the use of PCM (Phase Change Material) materials in Thermal Energy Storage systems. The demand for cooling in the building sector is growing rapidly in the tropics because the tropical climate zone receives large amounts of solar radiation, sunny days of the year, high humidity, and high temperatures. The climate in the tropics causes buildings to absorb more heat and create uncomfortable conditions for the people inside. Uncomfortable air temperature conditions can also be caused by the building itself, such as the materials chosen for construction. Currently, many studies discuss building materials that can be a passive method to achieve energy efficiency and thermal comfort. Under these conditions, energy storage technology is needed for the efficient use of energy in various sectors. This study aims to determine the characteristics and materials of PCM and measure the effectiveness of the use of thermal cycle test equipment on the material as a representation of the application of the material in real conditions and determine changes in the thermal properties of using PCM on the walls of the room to the indoor temperature.
Titin is one of 2 recipients of PMDSU scholarship batch IV from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology at FTUI. PMDSU Scholarship (Master’s Program Towards Doctorate for Excellent Bachelors) is a scholarship offered to the best undergraduate graduates in Indonesia to continue their master’s to doctoral studies. During this doctoral study, Titin also participated in the PKPI Scholarship program (Improving the Quality of Scientific Publications) which is also part of the PMDSU program scheme, namely the internship program at Rennes University Institute of Technology (Institut Universitaire de Technologie de Rennes) for 6 months. This scholarship and internship program is provided by the government to improve the quality of scholars so that they become graduates who have strong enough competitiveness. This scholarship program is structured to improve the quality of master’s education in Indonesia.
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Public Communication Bureau
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia