Eisenhower Day Celebrations Conference on 18 October

The Eisenhower Day Celebrations Conference 2016 will be held on 18 October from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute Auditorium, 24, Horton Place, Colombo 7.

Organised by the Eisenhower Fellowships Association of Sri Lanka (EFASL) with Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) the event will focus on ‘The trail of nanotechnology and extraterrestrial life’ by a top panel of experts. 

The Eisenhower Fellowships Association of Sri Lanka is collaborating with the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology to bring to the Sri Lankan public some of the latest and most ground breaking international research findings in the area of Astrobiology new research on Extraterrestrial life and Nanotechnology.

In celebration of The Eisenhower Day and its contribution to supporting outstanding human achievement the world over, this year’s Eisenhower will highlight the work and research of Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe, internationally acclaimed astronomer, world famous for his pioneering studies in Astrobiology, cosmic dust and extraterrestrial life.

Prof. Wickramasinghe/Astrobiologist from Cardiff, UK will speak on the topic ‘New research shows certainty of extraterrestrial life’.

Introduction to SLINTEC will be by its CEO Harin de Silva Wijeyeratne followed by ‘Economic Impact of Nanotechnology’ presented by Prof. Viranja Karunaratne, Associate Director of SLINTEC.

The EFASL will donate surplus funds from the event to the SLINTEC Endowment Fund and Trail Project.

Professor Wickramasinghe is an internationally acclaimed astronomer, famous for his pioneering studies on the carbonaceous nature of cosmic dust and the prevalence extraterrestrial life. He is a recipient of several international awards and honorary doctorates. 

He was a former Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge and a Professor at Cardiff University for 40 years. He is currently Honorary Professor and Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He is also a founder member of the newly formed Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics in Gifu, Japan. He has written over 30 books and 300 scientific papers, over 60 of these being in the journal Nature.

Harin is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Sri Lanka and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of the United Kingdom. He began his career at Ernst & Young Sri Lanka, Harin then moved on to Ernst & Young Bahrain in 1992, where he specialised in auditing of investment banks. 

After spending 18 months at the ANZ Banking Group – Bahrain operations, Harin joined Investcorp, Bahrain in 1999, where he remained till 2010 as Principal, Investment Administration. In 2011, Harin returned to Sri Lanka to establish Avastha Financial Advisory Service. 

Since taking over SLINTEC in Jul 2013 as CEO, Harin has worked to expand the scientific research offering at SLINTEC. Harin has overseen the Institutions move to the Nanotechnology and Science Park in Homagama and helped to expand the offering to include the new Technology Incubation Centre. 

In 2013 Harin established the SLINTEC Endowment Trust Fund with a view to channeling capital for fundamental research and to provide financial assistance to science and engineering students. Harin also serves on the Board of Union Assurance Ltd. Harin is also a member of the Lankan Angel Network which provides seed-capital to start-ups in Sri Lanka. Harin also supports grass root micro finance programs as well as projects that build English and IT literacy in rural Sri Lanka.

Senior Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Peradeniya & Associate Director Science & Strategic Relations, SLINTEC, Dr. Karunaratne, who has over 125 published research articles to his name, is an authority on drug delivery systems containing liposomes, nanomaterials and nanocomposites. He researches Nanotechnology based solutions to slow release of fertiliser and biologically important compounds. 

Dr. Karunaratne is a Fellow, of the National Academy of Sciences, a Visiting Professor, Department of Chemistry & Earth and Ocean Sciences, Vancouver, Canada. He was awarded the Knight of the Order of Academic Palms (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques) by the Government of France in 2012.