science

Otto Soemarwoto

Otto Soemarwoto is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Otto Soemarwoto rather than just read about it. In short: Prof. Otto Soemarwoto (19 February 1926 – 1 April 2008) was an Indonesian botanist and professor of plant physiology at Padjadjaran University and was director of the National Biology Institute from 1964 to 1972; he also served as director of the Institute of Ecology from 1972 until 1991.

Key takeaways

Otto Soemarwoto belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Otto Soemarwoto to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Otto Soemarwoto from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Prof. Otto Soemarwoto (19 February 1926 – 1 April 2008) was an Indonesian botanist and professor of plant physiology at Padjadjaran University and was director of the National Biology Institute from 1964 to 1972; he also served as director of the Institute of Ecology from 1972 until 1991. His work in the latter role has been cited as a primary influence on the resettlement strategy during Indonesia's Saguling Dam project.

Early life and education Born in Purwokerto, as a child Soemarwoto was an avid reader, liked traveling out of town and was fond of plants. He studied at a nautical training high school in Cilacap and, after completing his training at the high school, he worked as a deck officer on a wooden boat that travelled the Jakarta-Lampung route. Soemarwoto joined the student militia during the Indonesian struggle for independence, and upon its proclamation continued his studies at the School of Agriculture at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, of which he graduated in 1949.

Academic career He taught at UGM before being sent to study plant physiology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he stayed until 1959. An avid environmentalist, the professor was appointed so in 1960. In 1964 he was named director of the Bogor Botanical Garden at Padjajaran University.

Awards and recognition Soemarwoto was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the Order of the Golden Ark from the Netherlands'Prince Bernhard, and the Global 500 award from the United Nations Environment Programme. In 1981, Soemarwoto received a Fulbright teaching grant that allowed him to spend a year at the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. During this time, he taught courses emphasizing environmental issues and their impact on local communities. He also continued research on the relocation of people from the Saguling dam site in West Java, studying the long-term effects on both human livelihoods and the surrounding natural environment.

Personal life He died in Bandung on 1 April 2008, aged 82.

Bibliography Pembangunan Berkelanjutan: antara Konsep dan Realitas (Sustainable Development: between Concept and Reality, 2006)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Otto Soemarwoto

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Otto Soemarwoto claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Otto Soemarwoto before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Otto Soemarwoto ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Otto Soemarwoto

In research: Otto Soemarwoto appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Otto Soemarwoto in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Otto Soemarwoto is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1926 births, 2008 deaths, 20th-century botanists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Otto Soemarwoto outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Otto Soemarwoto in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Otto Soemarwoto means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Otto Soemarwoto out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Otto Soemarwoto in simple terms?

Why does Otto Soemarwoto matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Otto Soemarwoto?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Otto Soemarwoto.