V. K. Samaranayake
Encyclopedia
Vidya Jyothi
V. K. Samaranayake (Sinhala:වී.කේ.සමරනායක) MBCS
, MCS(SL), FNASSL, MIEEE (1939 - June 6, 2007) pioneered computing & IT
development industry and usage in Sri Lanka and thus considered as the "Father of Information Technology" in Sri Lanka. He was a Professor of Computer Science and former Dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo
. Prof Samaranayake played a major role in the development of IT
and IT
related education in Sri Lanka. He was at the time of his death the chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka and was the founding and former director of the University of Colombo School of Computing
(UCSC).
and completed his secondary education with distinction at the prestigious Royal College and went on to do his higher studies at the University of Ceylon
. He graduated with a B.Sc
in Special Mathematics (First Class Honors) in 1961 and then proceeded to England for his post-graduate studies on a Ceylon Government Scholarship for Mathematics. He received a Diploma of Imperial College
from Imperial College and a Ph.D.
from King's College London
, both in the field of Mathematical Physics
.
(in 1974 University of Ceylon
was abolished and University of Colombo
created from the Colombo campus of the former university) for the next 43 years since 1961. He was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Head, Department of Mathematics in 1974 and Dean of the Faculty of Science in 1975.
Samaranayake was the founder of the Department of Statistics and Computer Science (DSCS) in 1985 and of the Institute of Computer Technology (ICT) of the University of Colombo
in 1987. These two institutions were merged as the University of Colombo School of Computing
in 2002.
Samaranayake served the Council for Information Technology (CINTEC), the apex National agency for IT in Sri Lanka
as its Chairman for a period of 12 years. In the field of IT he has pioneered work on IT Policy, Legal Infrastructure, EDI/E-Commerce, Security, Internet Technology, Computer Awareness and IT Education. In 2004 Prof. Samaranayake became the chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) the government agency governing the ICT in Sri Lanka, he held the post till his death in 2007. He was the President of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science during its golden jubilee in 1994. At the time of his death he was the president of Infotel Lanka Society.
(ICTP) in Trieste, Italy since 1969 as a UNESCO
Fellow in Mathematical Physics (1969), IAEA Fellow in Mathematical Physics (1971), Associate Member (1972-1977) and a Senior Member since 1978.
He was a Fellow of the Harvard Information Infrastructure Project in 2001 and Research Fellow of the National Centre for Digital Government in 2003, both at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
.
He was a Fellow of the Digital Vision Program at Stanford University
in 2005.
.
. He was father of Samitha (working in Oracle Corporation
) and Nayana (working in Google
Inc).
, Sweden on the 6th of June, 2007. The Sri Lankan Government awarded Samaranayake a funeral with state patronage at the Independence Square, Colombo on the 13th June 2007, as an appreciation of the contributions and accomplishments Prof Samaranayake.
Sri Lankan honours system
The Sri Lankan national honours system is a fully indigenous honours system of titles, decorations and medals which are awarded to recognize achievements of, or service by, Sri Lankans or others in connection with Sri Lanka...
V. K. Samaranayake (Sinhala:වී.කේ.සමරනායක) MBCS
British Computer Society
The British Computer Society, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology in the United Kingdom and internationally...
, MCS(SL), FNASSL, MIEEE (1939 - June 6, 2007) pioneered computing & IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
development industry and usage in Sri Lanka and thus considered as the "Father of Information Technology" in Sri Lanka. He was a Professor of Computer Science and former Dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo
University of Colombo
The University of Colombo is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka...
. Prof Samaranayake played a major role in the development of IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
related education in Sri Lanka. He was at the time of his death the chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka and was the founding and former director of the University of Colombo School of Computing
University of Colombo School of Computing
The University of Colombo School of Computing in Sri Lanka was formed in 2002 by bringing together the Department of Computer Science and the Institute of Computer Technology.- History :Professor V. K...
(UCSC).
Early life & Education
Samaranayake was born to Mr. and Mrs. V. W. Samaranayake on May 22, 1939. He started his primary schooling at Ananda CollegeAnanda College
Ananda College , Colombo which is considered as the leading National school in Sri Lanka, was established on November 1, 1886, by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott...
and completed his secondary education with distinction at the prestigious Royal College and went on to do his higher studies at the University of Ceylon
University of Ceylon
The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was...
. He graduated with a B.Sc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Special Mathematics (First Class Honors) in 1961 and then proceeded to England for his post-graduate studies on a Ceylon Government Scholarship for Mathematics. He received a Diploma of Imperial College
Diploma of Imperial College
The Diploma of the Imperial College is an academic certificate awarded by Imperial College London to its postgraduate students upon graduation. Until recently, Imperial was part of the University of London and Imperial College bestowed the University of London's degrees as well as its own...
from Imperial College and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, both in the field of Mathematical Physics
Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
.
Career
After completing his education Samaranayake went on to serve the University of CeylonUniversity of Ceylon
The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was...
(in 1974 University of Ceylon
University of Ceylon
The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was...
was abolished and University of Colombo
University of Colombo
The University of Colombo is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka...
created from the Colombo campus of the former university) for the next 43 years since 1961. He was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Head, Department of Mathematics in 1974 and Dean of the Faculty of Science in 1975.
Samaranayake was the founder of the Department of Statistics and Computer Science (DSCS) in 1985 and of the Institute of Computer Technology (ICT) of the University of Colombo
University of Colombo
The University of Colombo is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka...
in 1987. These two institutions were merged as the University of Colombo School of Computing
University of Colombo School of Computing
The University of Colombo School of Computing in Sri Lanka was formed in 2002 by bringing together the Department of Computer Science and the Institute of Computer Technology.- History :Professor V. K...
in 2002.
Samaranayake served the Council for Information Technology (CINTEC), the apex National agency for IT in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
as its Chairman for a period of 12 years. In the field of IT he has pioneered work on IT Policy, Legal Infrastructure, EDI/E-Commerce, Security, Internet Technology, Computer Awareness and IT Education. In 2004 Prof. Samaranayake became the chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) the government agency governing the ICT in Sri Lanka, he held the post till his death in 2007. He was the President of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science during its golden jubilee in 1994. At the time of his death he was the president of Infotel Lanka Society.
Fellowships
Samaranayake was associated with the International Centre for Theoretical PhysicsInternational Centre for Theoretical Physics
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics was founded in 1964 by Pakistani scientist and Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam after consulting with Munir Ahmad Khan. It operates under a tripartite agreement among the Italian Government, UNESCO, and International Atomic Energy Agency...
(ICTP) in Trieste, Italy since 1969 as a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Fellow in Mathematical Physics (1969), IAEA Fellow in Mathematical Physics (1971), Associate Member (1972-1977) and a Senior Member since 1978.
He was a Fellow of the Harvard Information Infrastructure Project in 2001 and Research Fellow of the National Centre for Digital Government in 2003, both at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
He was a Fellow of the Digital Vision Program at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 2005.
Awards
- The Government of Sri Lanka has honored Samaranayake for his contribution to IT in the country by awarding of the award of Vidya Prasadini in 1997 and the national honour Vidyaj YothiSri Lankan honours systemThe Sri Lankan national honours system is a fully indigenous honours system of titles, decorations and medals which are awarded to recognize achievements of, or service by, Sri Lankans or others in connection with Sri Lanka...
in 1998.
- The Japan International Cooperation AgencyJapan International Cooperation AgencyThe Japan International Cooperation Agency is an independent governmental agency that coordinates official development assistance for the government of Japan...
(JICA) has presented its President's Award for International Cooperation to Prof. Samaranayake in 1996 in recognition of his contribution.
- The University of ColomboUniversity of ColomboThe University of Colombo is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka...
at its convocation held in January 2005, conferred on Prof. Samaranayake the Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) for his outstanding contribution to the University of Colombo.
Major contributions
Samaranayake was actively involved in the formulation of the WASO 10646 standard for Sinhalese Characters and in the development of multilingual web sites and has been instrumental in helping to apply computers in many areas of governance, including in national elections. In 1999 he chaired the National Y2K Task force that coordinated the very successful crossover to year 2000. More recently he initiated the External Degree of Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) of the University of Colombo, which in its very first year of operation has attracted 5000 registrations. He was the Chairman of the Project Management Committee of the SIDA funded project to enhance the internet connectivity of Sri Lankan Universities. At the time of his death he was involved in introducing ICT to rural communities and was engaged in developing Multipurpose Community Tele-Centers. He was a member of the advisory panel of the Asia IT&C program of the European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
.
Family
Samaranayake was married to Sriya Samaranayake, who was the former Deputy Commissioner, Inland Revenue Department. His brother was V. A. Samaranayake Professor at the University of Missouri–RollaMissouri University of Science and Technology
Missouri University of Science and Technology is an institution of higher learning located in Rolla, Missouri, United States, and part of the University of Missouri System...
. He was father of Samitha (working in Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
) and Nayana (working in Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Inc).
Death
Samaranayake died in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden on the 6th of June, 2007. The Sri Lankan Government awarded Samaranayake a funeral with state patronage at the Independence Square, Colombo on the 13th June 2007, as an appreciation of the contributions and accomplishments Prof Samaranayake.
Books Published
- Mulika Tharaka Vidyava, M.D. Gunasena & Co. Ltd. (1965) (A book on elementary Astronomy in Sinhala) *Tharaka - A reprint of the section on Stars of "Mulika Tharaka Vidyava" (1999)
Research Publications
- A New Determination of the Pion-Nucleon Coupling Constant and S-Wave Scattering Lengths (with W.S. Woolcock) Phy. Rev. Lett. 15 (1965) 936 - 938.
- Determination of the Pion-Nucleon Coupling Constant and s- Wave Scattering Lengths (with W.S. Woolcock) Proceedings of the Lund Conference on Elementary Particles (1969).
- Determination of the Pion-Nucleo n P-Wave and d-Wave Scattering Lengths (with B.P. Collins and W.S. Woolcock) Proceedings of the Lund Conference on Elementary Particles (1969).
- Spin and D-State Effects on High Energy Elastic Scattering of Pions on 3He (with H. Baier) Nucl. Phys. B15 (1970).
- Elastic Scattering of Low Energy Pions by Alpha Particles (with Harun-ar-Rashid) Nucl. Phys. B17 (1970).
- High Energy Scattering of Hadrons on 6Li (with Il-Tong Cheon) Nucl. Phys. A154 (1970) 93 - 96.
- Elastic Scattering of Pions on 4He at Small Momentum Transfer (with H. Baier) Nucl. Phy. B24 (1970) 273 - 284.
- S' and D' State Effects in 3He Form Factors and in p-3He Elastic Scattering Cross Sections (with G. Wilk) Lett. al Nuovo Cimento 4 (1972) 27 - 32.
- Determination of the Pion-Nucleon Coupling Constant and S- Wave Scattering Lengths (with W.S. Woolcock) Nucl. Phys. B48 (1972) 205 - 224.
- Forward Dispersion Relation Constraints on the Pion-Nucleon P-Wave and D-Wave Scattering Lengths (with W.S. Woolcock) Nucl. Phys. B49 (1972) 128 - 140.
- High Energy Nuclear Scattering and Rising Cross Sections Lett. Nuovo Cim 9 (1974) 677.