V K Samaranayake

Vidyaj Yothi Professor V. K. Samaranayake B.Sc (Ceyl), D.I.C., Ph.D.(Lond), D.Sc.(Colombo), 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).[1]

Early life & Education
Prof Samaranayake was born to Mr. and Mrs. V. W. Samaranayake. After completing his secondary education at the prestigious Royal College and then went on to do his higher studies at University of Ceylon.

Career
After complimenting his degree he went on to serve the same University (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. There he went on to become the Dean of the Faculty of Science.

He was the founder of the Department of Statistics and Computer Science (DSCS) and of the Institute of Computer Technology (ICT) of the University of Colombo. These two institutions were merged as the University of Colombo School of Computing in 2002.

He has 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.

Awards
The Government of Sri Lanka has honored Prof. Samaranayake for his contribution to IT in the country by awarding of the award of Vidya Prasadini in 1997 and the national honour Vidyaj Yothi in 1998.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has presented its President's Award for International Cooperation to Prof. Samaranayake in 1996 in recognition of his contribution.
The University of Colombo 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
Prof 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 Commission.

Family
Prof Samaranayake was married to Sriya Samaranayake, who was the former Deputy Commissioner, Inland Revenue Department. His brother was Prof. V. A. Samaranayake Professor at the University of Missouri–Rolla. He was father of Samitha (working in Oracle Corporation) and Nayana (working in Google Inc).

Death
Professor Samaranayake died in Stockham, 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.[2]

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.

References
^ http://www.ucsc.cmb.ac.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=343
^ http://www.ucsc.cmb.ac.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=344
Professor Samaranayake will fill a page in Lanka's history (English). LankaNewspaper.com (A news forum) (2007-06-11). Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
Vidya Jothi Professor V.K. Samaranayake passes away, Asiantribune

External links
Prof. V K Samaranayaka Web Portal
Vidya Jyothi Professor V.K.Samaranayak bio
E-Sri Lanka: Prof. V.K. Samaranayake’s lasting legacy

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