Yohanes Surya

Career

Yohanes Surya (born in Jakarta,

November 6, 1963) is an
Indonesian physicist and coach of
Indonesian Physics Team for the
Olympiad (TOFI) since 1993.
Under his guidance, the Indonesian
team has won 54 gold medals, 33
silver medals, and 42 bronze
medals at various international
science and physics competitions.
He is well known for his 'fun and
applicable
physics'
training
program.

Upon completing his doctoral

degree, Surya worked as a
theoretical physics consultant at
the TJNAF/CEBAF (Continuous
Electron
Beam
Accelerator
Facility), Virginia, USA. Despite
being a USA greencard holder,
Surya decided to return to
Indonesia in order to develop physics as a discipline in Indonesia.
As part of his work, he was made the leader of the Indonesian
Physics Olympiad Team (TOFI) Training Center in 1993, which
trains competitors for the Physics Olympiad. In addition, he became
a lecturer and researcher of the postgraduate study in the University
of Indonesia, specializing in nuclear physics.

Biography
Yohanes Surya is the seventh of nine children from a retired soldier
father and traditional cookie seller mother. He has five sisters and
three brothers. Surya spent his elementary school in SD Pulogadung
Petang II, East Jakarta. He continued his schooling at SMPN 90, and
SMAN 12, Jakarta. His parents could not afford to send him to
university, however with support from his older siblings, he was
able to enroll at the Physics department at School of Mathematics
and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia. In 1986, he
graduated with his bachelor's degree and continued his study in
College of William and Mary, Virginia, USA, to obtain his master
and doctorate degrees with highest honors.

In 2006, Yohanes Surya founded Surya Institute, with the vision

with the vision of transforming Indonesia through 30 thousand
PhD's in science and technology, supported by the mission to reform
Science and Math education in Indonesia. Simultaneously, Prof.
Surya and the Surya Institute team, which now also includes the
Indonesian Society for the Promotion of Science (ISPS), the Math
and Science Olympiad Training Center and Surya College of
Education (STKIP Surya), have also successfully trained students
from remote areas in Indonesia and simple backgrounds to excel and
win in prestigious international science competitions. These efforts
have managed to inspire people nationwide, including both students
and teachers, to master science and math in every way possible, and
aspiring to become even world-renowned champions. These aspiring

students will contribute greatly to the driving force of 30 thousand

PhD's transforming Indonesia.
Furthermore, Yohanes Surya founded Surya University in 2013, the
first research-based university in Indonesia, with its vision being

"Prosperous Indonesia 2030". With hundreds of PhD as its lecturer

and researcher, Surya University has more than 170
multidisciplinary research centers which involve undergraduate
students in their research since freshmen year.