The 224th professor of ITS, Prof Suprapto SSi MSi PhD, when presenting his scientific oration at the Open Session of the ITS Council of Professors in Grha Sepuluh Nopember ITS

ITS Campus, ITS News — The complexity of data and chemical analysis often becomes a challenge for experts and educators in the field. Stemming from this, the 224th professor of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Prof Suprapto SSi MSi PhD, initiated a chemometrics approach based on Python programming as an alternative solution to help solve chemical analysis problems.

According to the professor from the Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science and Data Analytics (Scientics) ITS, programming skills provide a great advantage for chemists in terms of research and innovation. In his scientific oration, Suprapto explained that programming technology, for example Python, allows for the processing of large and complex amounts of data. “It also simplifies statistical modeling and uncovers patterns that are difficult to identify manually with the application of machine learning,” he added.

Furthermore, the chemometrics approach referred to by Suprapto is an interdisciplinary field that combines statistical methods and information technology in chemical analysis. He specifically delved into the Python programming language to solve existing chemical problems, because this language is considered familiar and easy to access.

Prof Suprapto SSi MSi PhD while demonstrating response surface methodology (RSM) analysis using the Python programming language with Jupyter Notebook

The use of Python as the main tool in chemometrics research is one of the novelties of the research presented by the professor born in Magetan, September 19, 1972. With Python, various stages of chemical analysis such as spectral data preprocessing, experimental design, to modeling the relationship between structure and molecular activity can be carried out more systematically and efficiently. “Visualization of the analysis being run can also be obtained,” he said.

In its mechanism, according to Suprapto, Python can be integrated with various computational chemistry tools. He gave an example of its application in density functional theory (DFT), molecular dynamics, to chemoinformatics frameworks for virtual screening. Through this integration, researchers can predict reactions and determine material properties. “This supports the principle of open science because the workflow is documented and can be reproduced,” said the father of three.

The application of statistical methods within it is no less important. The Head of the Instrumentation and Analytical Science Laboratory mentioned several methods that can be applied, namely multivariate analysis, regression, experimental design, clustering, and many more. All of these analysis stages can be carried out more practically with the help of Python, so that researchers can process complex data while obtaining faster and more accurate results.

Prof Suprapto SSi MSi PhD (second from right) with his family after the ITS Professor Inauguration ceremony

Not limited to the realm of research and innovation, Suprapto also applies this approach in teaching and learning activities in lectures. The graduate of The University of Manchester, England, admitted that students can better understand the concepts of chemical analysis through direct practice with data processing. “At the same time, so they get used to using computational devices that are relevant to today’s needs,” added Suprapto.

The research, titled Chemometrics: Application of Statistics and Information Technology in Chemical Analysis, also supports the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially point 9, namely industry, innovation, and infrastructure. Suprapto hopes that his ideas can help increase the capacity of chemical research in Indonesia. “So that at the same time it can contribute to advancing education,” he concluded. (ITS PUBLIC RELATIONS)

Reporter: Putu Calista Arthanti Dewi