The selected student list for the Chemistry Honours Degree Programme.
The selected student list for the Industrial Chemistry Honours Degree Programme.
The team of Chemistry Undergraduates from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, who represented the university at the Annual Inter University Debate Competition organized by the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon (IChemC) on March 4th, 2023, secured the first runner-up position in the competition.
Eight students from the university participated in the competition: Govini Perera, Hirusha Liyanage, Minduli Perera, Devin Dharmaratne, Sajani Pathiranage, Darshitha Dilshan, Keshala Gunarathna and Vindula Vidarshana. They competed against teams from other universities such as University of Peradeniya, University of Ruhuna, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka and the College of Chemical Sciences.
The competition consisted of two sessions where each team debated with all the other teams under the league method. The team from College of Chemical Sciences won the competition while Rajarata University of Sri Lanka came third. The University of Sri Jayewardenepura team thanked their Lecturer in Charge, Prof. Theshini Perera, and Ms. Manesha Fernando for their guidance and support. They also expressed their gratitude to their past debating captain, Lasni Nishshanke, for her valuable input during their practice sessions via Zoom. They acknowledged the encouragement they received from the Head of the Department of Chemistry, Prof. Champa Jayaweera and the other lecturers of the department.
The team also appreciated Dr. Kushan Weerasiri, Chairperson of the Inter- University Debating Committee and the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon for providing them with an opportunity to showcase their skills and engage in intellectual discussions as young scientists.
Congratulations to Dr Imalka Munaweera who won the Young Scientist Award for Technology, at the 9th Biennial Conference on Science and Technology (BICOST IX) held 24th March 2023 at Colombo.
The Department of Chemistry is proud to announce that one of its recent graduates, Ms. Manesha Fernando, was able to win the ‘Best Poster Award’ at the 78th Annual Sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for Advancement (SLAAS) held from 12th to 15th December, 2022 at the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo 03. SLAAS, being the premier scientific body in Sri Lanka, was founded in 1944 and has a membership that spans over ten thousand catering to all disciplines of science and their upliftment in the country.
Ms. Fernando presented her undergraduate research work under Section E2- Chemical Sciences. Her work was on the ‘‘Preparation and Characterization of NPK Nutrient Loaded Electrospun Cellulose Acetate Nanofiber Mat to be used as a Slow-release Fertilizer’. Her research was supervised by Dr. Imalka Munaweera and co-supervised by Prof. Nilwala Kottegoda. Ms. Fernando expresses her deepest gratitude to her supervisor, Dr. Imalka Munaweera, who has guided her towards this great achievement.
The Department of Chemistry extends its warmest wishes to Ms. Fernando while also extending a deep sense of appreciation to all the supervisors and co-supervisors who were instrumental in this remarkable achievement. Great achievements by our chemistry graduates are in fact a testimony that the Department of Chemistry continues to cater to providing the best in both research and education.