Dr. Malkanthi Ilangakoon, currently residing in the USA, visited the Department of Physics on July 8th. During her visit, she met with the current staff and toured the laboratories. She was accompanied by Prof. Tantrigoda, Emeritus Professor of the Department and Chancellor of the Open University of Sri Lanka, and Dr. Sriya Kularatne from the Zoology Department, a close friend of Dr. Ilangakoon.
Dr. Ilangakoon was the first female assistant lecturer hired by the Department of Physics at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. After her departure, Prof. Tantrigoda also served as an Assistant Lecturer. The visit provided an opportunity for recent graduates and staff to connect, as they listened to stories shared by Dr. Ilangakoon and Prof. Tantrigoda about the Department’s early days.
Prof. Tantrigoda recalled the challenging conditions back then—there were no proper electricity or waterworks, and the blackboard had to be propped up with chairs due to the absence of a stand. The Department lacked benches, so students had to use chairs with attached stands for writing. Despite these humble beginnings, the Department has made remarkable progress, especially considering that the laboratories once had only two working sodium lamps for optics practicals.
