Dr. Agus Sudaryanto, researcher from Center Technology for Marine Survey, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), Indonesia, now a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University, Japan (a Senior Research Fellow at the Senior Research Fellow Center, Ehime University, from Dec. 2008) has won the award for “Highly Commended Platform Presentation” in the 5th SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) World Congress which was held during 3 - 7 August 2008 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sydney, Australia. The SETAC World Congress is routine scientific meeting held every 4-5 years, in addition to annual meetings conducted by different Geographic Units (Europe, Asia/Pacific, North America and Latin America) of the Society. The theme of the 5th SETAC World Congress in Sydney was “Protecting our Global Environment” and Dr. Sudaryanto presented a talk on his and co-workers research outcome entitled “Levels and Distribution of Brominated Flame Retardants in Surface Sediments of Jakarta Bay, Indonesia. This presentation was a part of his research carried out as a collaboration research work between CMES and BPPT on the environmental contamination and risk assessment of persistent toxic substances and emerging contaminants in Indonesia.

SETAC, the organizer of the Congress, is a non-profit, worldwide professional organization comprised of individuals and institutions (around 5000 members in 80 countries, organized via geographic units in North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America) dedicated to the study, analysis and solution of environmental problems, management and regulation of natural resources, research and development and environmental education. The mission of SETAC is to support the development of principles and practices for protection, enhancement and management of sustainable environmental quality and ecosystem integrity. SETAC fulfills its mission through the advancement and application of scientific research related to contaminants and other stressors in the environment, education in the environmental sciences and the use of science in environmental policy and decision-making. For further information about SETAC, please visit www.setac.org.