4 April 2019 01:27 am Views - 753
The handing over of the first day cover postage stamp of Prof. Cyril Ponnamperuma.
Prof. Ponnamperuma’s involvement in the Sri Lankan scientific arena began in 1984 when he became the Science Advisor to then Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayawardene. He was appointed as the Director of the Institute of Fundamental Studies where he was instrumental in setting up the permanent home for the Institute at Hantana having taken over a Hotel. He built a modern Laboratory complex to pursue basic
Vidya Jothi Professor Cyril Ponnamperuma was born in Galle. He obtained his Ph.D., in Biochemistry at Berkeley Laboratories USA. From 1951 until his demise he served at the University of Maryland, College Park as a distinguished Professor of Biochemistry as well as the Director of the Laboratory of Chemical Evolution pioneering in the field and spotlighting Sri Lanka to the world. He also served as the distinguished Professor at the Soviet Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy if Sciences. Among the many awards Prof. Ponnamperuma received the “Alexander Oparin Gold Medal” for the best sustained programme on the origin of life, awarded by the International Society for the study of the origin of life.
Prof. Ponnamperuma also served as the first Director of the Arthur. C. Clarke Centre for modern technologies in Sri Lanka. He worked simultaneously on several fronts covering science policy, institution building, fund raising, capacity building and public engagement in Sri Lanka. At IFS he also reached out to schools and professional associations.
The first day cover is valued at Rs.15 and was issued by the director of the Philatelic Bureau Shanta Kumar Meegamuwa. The first day cover was presented to the Director of IFS by the Deputy Post Master General.