A Sri Lankan professor who was honoured as the Best Young Scientist in the world recently says he takes pride in his humble beginnings in a small school.
Prof. Rangika Umesh Halwathura who won the award from the World Academy of Science based in Italy, is also the youngest professor of engineering in Sri Lanka. The global award is limited to the professionals under the age of 40.
The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy uniting 1,000 scientists in 70 countries with the aim of promoting scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the Third World. Its headquarters are located on the premises of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy.
A product of the Kalutara Vidyalaya in a small town off the southern coast off Sri Lanka, Prof. Halwathura is teaching engineering at the University Moratuwa. Incidentally, The late space writer Arthur C. Clark, was associated with the university holding the post of the chancellor from 1974 to 2002.
The prestigious annual global award is offered after analyzing scientists’ research and papers attributing the subject they specialize in, and other achievements in the fields of biology, chemistry, engineering and physics in the Third World.
Speaking about the prestigious award, Prof. Halwathura told BBC Sinhala Service that he did not study in a big college. “I was born in Kalutara on the southern coast of the island and studied in a small school from where I entered the University of Moratuwa to pursue graduate studies”. He owns seven patents, widely considered as innovative inventions, environmentally-friendly and economically-sustainable in the Third World. Five of the patents relate to products using earth as the main raw material. The most popular and important one is a mud concrete block which has been made by using soil. These blocks can be used to build strong and durable houses at affordable costs.
In addition, the young scientist has made few other revolutionary discoveries. One such invention is aimed at preventing the heat generated by the roof from spreading into the interior in houses in tropical countries.
Prof. Halwathura was named the Most Outstanding Sri Lankan two years in a row in addition to being honoured with the prestigious Savsiri Award offered by the government of Sri Lanka last year. An associate professional of Green Building Council of Sri Lanka, he is also a passionate amateur wildlife photographer.
