Premana Wardayanti Premadi

Premana Wardayanti Premadi (born 13 July 1964) is an Indonesian astronomer who is a professor at the Bandung Institute of Technology. She has been head of the Bosscha Observatory since 2018.

Early life and education Premadi was born in Surabaya, East Java on 13 July 1964. Her father Premadi was a surgeon and her mother Soewarni Premadi was a nurse. She briefly studied in Palembang for elementary school before continuing her studies in Jakarta. In an interview, Premadi stated that she was inspired to study astronomy by her high school teachers and from images sent by the Voyager program. She was the first Indonesian woman to receive a doctorate in astrophysics. According to Premadi, she was also the only woman and Asian studying astrophysics in Austin during her time. Richard Matzner was Premadi's doctoral advisor and Hugo Martel mentored her. She then became head of the Bosscha Observatory in Lembang, West Java in 2018. Under her leadership, the observatory focused on solar observations due to a lack of available equipment. She has also been involved in the construction of the Timau Observatory in Timor. She is also active in science outreach, creating the Indonesian branch of Universe Awareness in 2007 to teach astronomy to young children and chairing the organization until 2013.

Personal life She is married to Yudi Soeharyadi, a lecturer in mathematics at ITB. In 2010, Premadi was diagnosed with ALS.

Awards and honors The main belt asteroid 12937 Premadi, discovered in 1960 by C. J. van Houten, was named in her honor in 2017. She was the first female astronomer in Indonesia to have an asteroid named in her honor. She was awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2023.