THE HPI JOURNEY
The Indonesian Polymer Association (HPI) establishment was officially declared by Dr. Nilyardi Kahar on July 1, 1992 at the Grand Hotel Preanger, Bandung, Indonesia at the end of the 3rd-JICA symposium and the 2nd ASEAN - Japan Symposium on Polymers. Dr. N.M. Surdia of ITB was selected as the first chair of HPI.
The establishment of HPI carried out a lot of cooperation in national, regional and international levels, which aimed to bring researchers, industry and government representatives to discuss research, technology, and innovation of polymers prospect in Indonesia. In addition, HPI regularly conducted several workshops, symposiums and regional or international conferences in collaboration with other institutions in Indonesia as the organizers.
On January 10-15, 1993, the 2nd International Conference on Frontiers of Polymer and Advanced Materials was held at the Hyatt, Jakarta. Presiden Soeharto inaugurated this event and it was pointed out as the prestigious event organized by HPI in collaboration with LIPI, BPPT/Ministry of Research and Technology, and State University of New York, USA.
In the national level, HPI held the 1st National Symposium and Exhibition at Hotel Indonesia, Jakarta on July 11-12, 1995. At the same time, the first HPI Congress or General Assembly was held to elect the HPI chairman for the period of 1995-1998. Dr. M. Sugandi of Pertamina was elected as the chair of HPI. Since then, HPI has been conducting regularly the Symposium and General Assembly for every three years until 2001. The National Symposium II and HPI Congress was taking place in Bogor on July 8, 1998. Dr. Suharto Honggokusumo from the Center for Rubber Technology, the Indonesian Ministry of Industry, was elected as the HPI chairman for the period of 1998-2001. Finally, the National Symposium III and the HPI Congress was held in Bandung on August 8-9, 2001. The HPI Congress elected Dr. A. Zainal Abidin of ITB to chair the HPI for the period of 2001-2004.
During this period, HPI organised the National Symposium with the HPI Congress separately. The National Symposium IV was held in BPPT, Jakarta on 8 July 2003. The scopes of presentation included the synthesis and reaction of polymer, composite and blending of polymer, polymer physics, polymer modification, and polymer for the environment. However, on November 22, 2005 in the Research Center for Physics - LIPI, Bandung, HPI was back to organise the National Symposium V together with the HPI Congress. A new HPI chairman, Dr. Sunit Hendrana of LIPI was elected for the period of 2005-2008. Since this period, the Symposium has been organised annually such as the National Symposium VI on 6 September 2006 in the Research Center for Chemistry - LIPI, Serpong and the National Symposium VII in the University of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta on August 14, 2007. After two series of the National Symposium, the International Conference on Advanced and Sustainable Polymers was conducted together with the HPI Congress on August 4-5, 2008 in Savoy Homann Bidakara Hotel, Bandung. Dr. Sunit Hendrana was elected for the second time to rule the HPI for the period of 2008-2011.
In the following year, the National Symposium VIII was organised by HPI in collaboration with the Indonesian Chemical Society (HKI) at Tiara Convention Center, Medan on May 19-20, 2009. In 2010, the National Symposium IX was organised in part of the International Seminar on Fundamental and Application of Chemical Engineering (ISFACheE) in Inna Kuta Hotel, Bali on November 3-4, 2010. Finally, the largest event was organised by HPI in collaboration with the Asian Polymer Association (APA) to host the International Conference on the Innovation in Polymer Science and Technology in Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel, Bali on November 28 – December 1, 2011. During this conference, HPI Congress was also conducted to elect the new chairman for the period of 2011-2014. Mr. Sudirman of BATAN was elected to chair the HPI for the next 3 years.
Beside the National Symposium and Congress organised by HPI, there were several events have been organised between 1990 – 2010 in collaboration with foreign universities or institutions. On November 4-8, 1996 in collaboration with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Center for Research and Development of Cellulose Industry, the International Workshop on Green Polymers was conducted at Savoy Homann Hotel, Bandung. The 2nd International Workshop on Green Polymers on October 15-20, 2000 was also conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Materials and Chemical Research, Japan and Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands.
As a scientific community, HPI also publish a journal regularly, namely the Indonesian Polymer Journal, ISSN 1410-7864, twice per year. The first volume was published in 1998. Finally, in 2010 the organisation of HPI has been changed and transformed into a legal corporation. It means that HPI became the public, legal and registered organisation which is funded independently by the members and other sources.
