Postage stamp in honour of Prof. Ponnamperuma

The handing over of the first day cover postage stamp of Prof. Cyril Ponnamperuma.   

After three decades Vidya Jothi Prof. Cyril Ponnamperuma who led the Moon Soil Analysis Laboratory at NASA, USA under the Apollo Space Mission was honoured with a Postage Stamp at the 2018 Annual Review sessions of the Institute of Fundamental Studies (IFS), held at the IFS Auditorium   

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 research to improve the Fundamental understanding of Science to the broader community while training graduate students to take on academic leadership in the county.   In recognition of his services to Sri Lanka he was conferred the Honour of Vidya Jothi by the Government of Sri Lanka.   

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.