Roshini Hafeel honoured by Best Scientist of the Year 2017 Award
The Best Scientist of the Year is an award that recognises the outstanding contribution of an exceptional scientist. This year Ms Roshini Fathima Hafeel, the Head of the Rice Re s e a rch Stat i o n , Ambalantota was honoured by the award in recognition of her contributions to Agricultural research in Sri Lanka.
Ms Hafeel received the award on 7th September 2017 at Gannoruwa, Peradeniya by the Director General of Agriculture and the executive committee of the Annual Symposium of the Department of Agriculture 2017.
Hafeel was born on 20th July 1971 and attended Sujatha Vidyalaya, Matara where she received distinction passes for all subjects at the GCE (O/L) in 1987. she went on to become the Deputy Head Prefect of the school in the year 1989 and entered the University of Ruhuna in 1991. At the time she graduated from school, she had held a number of prominent positions within the school body: she was the secretary of the school girl guide company and a member of the school oriental band (music and dancing) and held executive positions in (President, Secretary) in school societies ( Science, Sinhala and English).
She graduated from the University of Ruhuna with a BSc. Agriculture with a 2nd class upper (honours) from the University of Ruhuna in 1998, and went on to earn an MSc in Agriculture in 2006 and a MPhil in Food Science and Technology in 2011 from the University of Peradeniya.
Armed with her BSc. Agriculture, Hafeel joined the Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI), Batalagoda as a Research Officer in the year 2000 as a Research Officer of the grain quality division. She was offered the responsibility of the division at RRDI as its head in 2003 and was instrumental in upgrading the research facility in the division and initiated to test physic-chemical properties of ice varieties. The properties were tested in National Co-ordinated Rice Varietal Trial (NCRVT) entries and included in NCRVT reports for the first time in history.
Promoted as the head of the RIce Research Station, Ambalantota, she assumed duties in 2010 as the Research Officer in Charge. In 2013, Hafeel once again proved her versatility by accepting the responsibilities of Deputy Director (Research) in 2013.
Throughout her career, Hafeel has contributed to introducing promising rice varieties to the country. Numbered among her contributions to the rice varieties are Rice variety At 309- recommended for general cultivation in 2013, Rice variety At 373recommended for general cultivation in 2014, and Rice variety At 311- recommended for general cultivation in 2015. Hafeel’s team contributed in recognising the At 309 for its compatibility with the requirements of the local biscuit industry. “Due to its special grain quality attributes the variety was popularly distributed among the rice producers for different products. Especially “Kome” biscuit production by CBL ( Ceylon Biscuits Limited) and Healthy Flour Company for other rice based products,” Hafeel notes.
Hafeel was also involved in novelty approaches in research. She introduced a vegetarian sausage with a special rice variety through research studies in collaboration with the University of Ruhuna. The year 2014 saw the publication of the production protocol. Sprouted rice consisting of promising nutritional attributes were experimented and introduced for the national consumer, and the research finding and preparation protocol was published in 2012.
Hafeel has received a number of awards and accolades throughout her career. In 2016, she became the Presidential award winner for scientific publication, and received the National Productivity Award in the same year.
Hafeel was also recognised at scientific forums to lead scientific teams. She has held the responsibility of the chairperson for the mirror committee for cereal and cereal products in Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI), Colombo. A mirror committee was formed with a group of scientists representing SLSI, Department of Agriculture (DOA), University, Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) and Private companies on the 5th of May 2016. It regulates standards to cereal and cereal products. I was appointed to chair the forum.
Ms Hafeel also holds a number of scientific memberships. She is a Member of the International network for quality rice (INQR), a committee member of section B of Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS), member of the Young Scientist Forum (YSF) of National Science and Technology Commission, and STMIS Member in National Science Foundation.