Ms. Piumika Yapa, a postgraduate student of the Department of Chemistry, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, has been honored with the Prof. M. U. S. Sultanbawa Award for Research in Chemistry – 2024, in recognition of her unique, distinguished, and significant contribution made to the cause of Science, Chemistry, Education and Research in Sri Lanka. This prestigious award is conferred by the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon (IChemC) for the best research paper presented at the 53rd Annual Sessions, titled “Multimetallic Silica Nanohybrids Incorporated Nanofiber Membrane for Potential Synergistic Antibacterial Applications.”
Her research was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Imalka Munaweera, with Dr. Laksiri Weerasinghe and Prof. Manjula Weerasekera serving as co-supervisors. This project centred on the development of advanced nanohybrid membrane systems designed to deliver enhanced antibacterial efficacy through the synergistic action of multimetallic nanoparticles.
The award was ceremoniously presented at the Inaugural Ceremony of the 54th Annual Sessions of the IChemC, held on the 16th of June 2025 at the BMICH, Sri Lanka.