Muhammad Iqhrammullah is one of leading young scientists in Indonesia. His work cover various research topics in sustainability; ranging from heavy metal to citizen science. He has successfully developed renewable materials from biomass and bioresources. In 2020, he proposed a novel polycondensation mechanism of polyurethane prepared from green algae. His method offers a shortcut to the manufacturing of the material as it does not require polyol extraction. The polymeric materials he has prepared are used to control and monitor the heavy metal contamination in the water by using adsorptive removal and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy techniques, respectively. He is a part of a team, formerly led by Prof. Dr. Ir. Marlina, M.Si, that received a grant from WWF Netherlands to conduct a citizen science project in Aceh Jaya Regency, Aceh Province, Indonesia.
The project has been conducted for more than a year with an objective to empower the community in combating mercury pollution. The area was infamous for the threat of mercury pollution released from artisanal gold mining. The citizen science project helps the community to be aware of the dangers of mercury, by involving them in the pollution assessment. It has been successful in engaging various stakeholders such as regent and provincial government agencies, gold miner, religious leaders, local leaders and youths) to end the use of mercury in artisanal gold mining.
Learn more about his project here and find out how you can start something similar in your country.