Annual Research Symposium 2019 of the College of Chemical Sciences

The 12th of September 2019 marked an important day in the calendar of the College of Chemical Sciences, Institute of Chemistry Ceylon.

The College hosted the first session of the Annual research symposium on this day where undergraduates were given the opportunity to conduct oral presentations on their respective research projects.

The seventy projects that were presented on this day were each the fruits of unremitting dedication and hard work that were put in by the fourth year undergraduates for over twelve months.

If one were to peruse the symposium handbook distributed to the participants, one would be assailed by research topics covering a wide variety of disciplines in Chemistry, such as Biochemistry, Computational Chemistry, Surface Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Nanochemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Natural Product Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Synthetic Organic Chemistry.

All these avenues of research were in some cases the joint effort of the College working in collaboration with some of the most well-known authorities on the relevant fields, like the University of Colombo, University of Jayewardenepura, University of Kelaniya, the Sri Lankan Institute of Nanotechnology and Genetech.

The collective efforts of an expert panel put together from all corners of the intellectual community, such as the University of Colombo, Kelaniya, Jayewardenepura, Ruhuna and of course the College itself, ensured that the evaluation of the research projects were of the highest standard possible.

The second session comprising of poster presentations was held on the 13th of September. Mr. Yasiru Alwis, Miss. Dulshani Kandambi and Miss. Heshani Pupulewatte won the best poster presentation prizes under the sections of Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical / Physical Chemistry respectively. Mr. Amod Madurapperumage won Mr. Mevan Pieris Prize for the overall best poster presentation.

The Annual Research Symposium of CCS is a feat that will sets the example that no pain should be spared for the rigorous search for truth through scientific discussion and evaluation. Furthermore, it reflects the unfailing duty of the College in its attempt to produce innovative chemists with a strong research experience, resulting in not just the establishment of new frontiers in the vast expanse of science, but also bringing those wonderful ideas into reality via competent application in real world scenarios.

The true essence of scientific advancement is not merely discovery, but rather the understanding and dissemination of the knowledge that comes from such a marvelous discovery, and one has to admit that the College of Chemical Sciences is one such place were intellectuals strive to do exactly that. Dr. Ranmal Gunatilake

Senior Lecturer