Professor of the ITS Statistics Department, Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Heri Kuswanto MSi, presenting his research on climate modeling which successfully obtained research funding from the UK.

ITS Campus, ITS News – The academic community of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) has once again carved a brilliant achievement on the international stage. This achievement comes from Prof Dr rer pol Heri Kuswanto MSi, a lecturer from the ITS Department of Statistics who succeeded in obtaining funding from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), an independent research agency from England, amounting to 345 thousand pounds sterling.

Heri explained that ARIA organized a research funding program focusing on efforts to prevent climate crises. This program only selected 21 projects to be funded out of around 120 proposals submitted by researchers from various countries. This made ITS the only institution from Indonesia that succeeded in penetrating this prestigious funding, alongside world-renowned institutions such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London.

Through the research titled ‘Towards Robust and Unbiased Validation of SAI Simulations (TRUSS): Advancing Ensemble Calibration for Reliable Geoengineering Impact Analysis’, Heri will focus on addressing issues in climate projection simulations, particularly those involving the technology of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) or spraying particles into the atmosphere. “This technology is a part of the Solar Radiation Management (SRM) approach which requires in-depth research studies on its impacts,” he stated.

Prof Dr rer pol Heri Kuswanto MSi, a professor from ITS who successfully obtained ARIA UK research funding worth 345 thousand pounds sterling

The Dean of the ITS School of Interdisciplinary Management and Technology (SIMT) also explained that SRM is an effort to regulate the intensity of sunlight to prevent the increase of earth’s temperature. The concept used to assess the impact of this SRM so far has only used averages from climate simulation data. Whereas, he added, this data has large inter-model variability. “If this is ignored, then the results are biased and cannot be accounted for,” said Heri.

Based on that problem, this alumnus of Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, introduced the TRUSS concept to produce more accurate model validation by taking into account data uncertainty. The approach used combines the statistical method of Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) with machine learning algorithms like XGBoost. “Not just technical, this innovation will also become an important scientific basis in global climate policy making,” he emphasized.

The professor who just attended the Degrees Global Forum (DGF) 2025 conference in Cape Town, South Africa explained that the TRUSS research focuses on Indonesia and Southeast Asia. With the scope including the impact of SRM on drought, extreme rainfall, and relevant climate indices. “Model validation is done by matching simulation results with historical climate event data,” said the ITS Statistics Professor.

Prof Dr rer pol Heri Kuswanto MSi (right) with his international research colleagues attending the Degrees Global Forum (DGF) 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa

In its implementation, Heri continued, this three-year research will involve international collaborators such as Dr Daniela Visioni from Cornell University, United States, and Dr Matthew Henry, a researcher from England, who is an expert in global climate simulation. Besides that, two lecturers from the ITS Department of Statistics and five students from the fields of informatics and statistics are also involved to strengthen the team in terms of data processing and model development.

The man from Gresik said that this achievement is an important marker that Indonesian scientists have the capacity to be on par with world-class researchers. Not only that, in his view, this also strengthens ITS’s commitment to the advancement of science and technology. “This is not only a personal achievement, but also recognition that ITS is able to compete at the international level in the realm of fundamental research,” he emphasized in closing.

This research is in line with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially point number 13 on climate action. In addition, the involvement of students and international collaboration in this research also supports SDG point number 4 on quality education and point number 17 on partnerships for the goals, which strengthen the role of higher education in innovation and cross-country collaboration for the sustainability of the earth. (ITS PUBLIC RELATIONS)

Reporter: Aghnia Tias Salsabila