GLOBAL FORUM of Sri Lankan Scientists Tmpowering Sri Lanka through Networking and Xwnvfedge Sharing Introduction to Co-Chairpersons and Panelists Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 1 ISSa Illangasekare is the AMAX Distinguished Chair and Professor at the Colorado School of Mines. In 2007 he served as Hydrologic Sciences Program Director at US NSF". Received Honorary Doctorate from the Uppsala University, Fellow of American Geophysical Union (AGU), Fellow of American Association for Advancement of Science and Fellow of American Society of Civil Engineers, certified by American Academy of Environmental Engineers and American Academy of Water Resources Engineers and recipient of 2012 Darcy Medal from European Geosciences Union's for outstanding scientific contributions in water resources research and engineering. He is the editor of Water Resources Research, the leading journal in Hydrology published by AGU and past editor of Earth Science Review and co-editor of Vadose Zone Journal published by American Soil Science Society. Water and Environment Management using Advanced Information Technology: An Opportunity for Sri Lanka to Focus Research Towards Economic Development and Export Tissa H. Illangasekare. AMAX Distinguished Chair unci Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado. USA. Anura Jayasumanu. Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fori Collins, Colorado, USA. With the projected populat ion growth est imate to peak around 22 million in 2031 (Silva, 2007) , it is urgent that Sri Lanka develops well thought out strategies to manage its limited natural resources . O n e o f the most critical natural resources is water. Sustainable economic growth and the quality o f life of all Sri Lankans will heavily depend on long-term sustainabil i ty of both the quanti ty and quality of water as a resource. Urbanization and industrialization tied to rapid economic growth will contribute to water pollution and environmental degradation. Growth also contributes to water demands in the agriculture sector for irrigation and increased use of agrochemicals threatening water quality. Non-poin t chemical sources such as nitrates, pest icides and herbicides have the potential to pollute the na t ion ' s s t reams, r ivers, lakes and groundwater . Cl imate change due to global warming contr ibut ing to rising sea- levels will have catastrophic consequences in densely populated coastal regions and their water resources . Sri Lankan scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to contr ibute to the task o f management o f water as a resource through the development o f technologies to address na t ion ' s problems but a lso for export market . The pr imary thesis of this presentation is that our nation with a rich heritage of innovation as engineers who developed one of the National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 1 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 most advanced irrigation civilization thousand of years ago, we should have the self confidence and the creativity to meet these chal lenges successfully. W e explore the use of resource management schemes based on information technologies (IT). IT involves "acquisit ion, processing, storage and disseminat ion o f vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combinat ion o f comput ing and te lecommunicat ions" . The potential application of this technology is explored through two water related examples relevant to Sri Lanka: (1) d a m safety and (2) coastal aquifer management . It is est imated that there are approximately 320 medium and large dams in Sri Lanka and around 10,000 small dams , most of which are more than 1000 years old (Samarajeeva et al. , al, 2006) . In addition, as a part of development schemes such as Mahaval i , a n u m b e r o f large concrete d a m s have been built . In the case o f earth fill dams , catastrophic failure can occur as a result o f breaching of the earthen structure through leakage, piping, slope sliding and overtopping. In the case o f concrete dams , the structure can fracture, topple or sl ide. Any type of dam failure will have major and devastat ing consequences to the populat ion, property and the environment . Such a failure o f an earthen dam occurred 25 years ago in Kantale in Tr incomalee district in April of 1986 killing 127 people and destroying property in the region of Rs. 575 million. It has been reported that the d a m was inspected six months before the failure. It is not known when the failure process initiated and h o w it progressed. An early detection and warning system would have helped evacuat ion warning and reduced the loss o f life. Instruments or sensors that are automated to detect and measure seepage , soil or structural movement , pore-water pressure , moisture content and temperature , t i l tometers etc. can provide real-t ime data for detect ing potential condi t ions and chain of events that may lead to catastrophic dam failures. This data transmitted through the latest IT based communicat ion tools when interfaced with computer models of dam behavior and failure will provide an efficient computer based tool for monitor ing, decision making, warning and emergency evacuat ion action. A second example that is related to water supply and quality that has the potential use o f sensor based IT systems involves the management of groundwater . As reported by Manchanayaka and Bandara (1999) , exploitation of groundwater in Sri Lanka as a source of supply commenced in the mid - 1950s and the demand has been in the increase. They also state that chances of finding good quality groundwater water in considerable amounts are promis ing in coastal areas and alluvial valleys. This example deals with manag ing fresh water extraction through pumping from such coastal aquifers. Unmanaged pumping in costal aquifers induces the movement of salt water towards the fresh water (sal twater intrusion), thus contaminat ing the fresh water with salt mak ing it unusable for drinking and with long-term health consequences . A National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 2 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 delicate balance has to be mainta ined to control the extraction so that the net effects o f natural recharge from rain and pumping to keep the dense seawater contaminat ing the fresh water . I l langasekare et al , {2006 and 2009) also reported the persistence of salinity in coastal aquifers long t ime after a catastrophic event like a t sunami , point ing out the need for management of affected aquifers for fast recovery. A sensor system that is interfaced with a hydrologic model s imulat ing natural recharge and the effects of pumping on salt water intrusion will be able to be used to manage the pumping from high extraction wells. Over the last several years we have been working on wireless sensor based systems for monitoring the water and the env i ronment (Bandara et al, 2 0 0 8 ; Porta et al., 2009; Barnhart et. al. 2010) . This applicat ion exemplif ies the emerging trend merging IT with environmental sensing and management . Recent advances in sensors , microelectronics wireless communica t ion technologies , and information technologies have m a d e it possible the development o f potentially low-cost techniques to gather and process large amounts o f data at very high spatial and t ime resolutions. Coupl ing the problem of complex processes of flow and chemical t ransport in water and environmental system to data acquisit ion and processing using au tomated wireless sensor network ( W S N ) leads us to a new and excit ing interdisciplinary approach to science that chal lenges traditional academic divisions, frameworks and paradigms, Self organiz ing sensor ne tworks that respond to the changes in the spatial and temporal behavior of the system, as controlled by complex chemical , physical and biological transformation provide us with a tool to monitor and manage water and environmental systems. Such sensor networks o f heterogeneous sensor nodes having different power , processing, and storage capacit ies, will form a key pari of the emerging wor ldwide sensing and information infrastructure as well . T h e tn situ rea l - t ime data collection and processing capabili t ies associated with this technology is a significant improvement over the traditional moni tor ing based on manua l observat ions or extract ive sampling. However , incorporation into the sensor network the pattern recognit ion of the spatial evolution of the affected zones , to al low for re-calibration of models as a self-evolving process, will be a significant enhancement , that essentially converts the sensor network from a data collection system to an intelligent moni tor ing system providing directly useful information for decision making and management . The technology deve lopment and implementat ion strategy we propose recognizes that it is necessary to address the technological issue as well as societal specific cultural issues associated with creat ing the envi ronments for innovation and entrepreneurship. The hardware for this IT based technology is continually advancing in the electronic industry and all components could be obtained off the shelf. T h e o p p o r t u n i t y w e p r o p o s e to e x p l o r e in t h e c o n t e x t National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 3 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 of water and environmental management in Sri Lanka is an integrated monitoring system developed with the local software, I T and science talent, using local resources and investment. W e recognize that Sri Lanka has built much o f the necessary educational and training infrastructure to develop IT human capacity base during the last decade. To our knowledge , the universit ies and other IT degree grant ing educat ional and training institutions have been producing trained computer scientists and engineers to adequately meet the man-power needs . Focus of local and expatr iate talent a round this idea will have several important implications beyond moni tor ing and managing local natural resources. It will foster interdisciplinary interaction a m o n g scientists, engineers , IT managers and other personnel . Such interaction is critical for identification of novel solutions and development o f marketable products . Once the proof o f concept systems are developed, local entrepreneurs will have access to this technology, to deve lop and market to other developing and developed countr ies . M u c h o f the technology will a lso be adaptable to other critical tasks such as moni tor ing wildlife, and even spread of deceases. Deployment of moni tor ing system over wide areas may be carried out by involving students and teachers , thus exposing them to this new emerging branch o f IT for envi ronmenta l monitoring and management . The issue o f how the "cul ture mat te r s" in economic performance was argued by Thomas Friedman in his highly acclaimed book The World is Flat, first publ ished in 2005 . He refers to one of the most important books on th is subject, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by the economist David Landes , " . . . . tha t a l though cl imate, natural resources , and geography all play roles in explaining w h y some countr ies are able to make the leap to industrialization and others are not, the key factor is actually a country's cultural endowments , particularly the degree to which it has internalized the values o f hard work, thrift, honesty, patience, and tenacity, as well as the degree to which it is open to change , new technology , a n d equal i ty for w o m e n " This forum will provide an unique opportuni ty for the expatriate and local scientists and engineers , educators and entrepreneurs to critically look at to what extent our current educat ional system from primary schools to the Universi t ies and technical training institutes contribute towards human capacity building needed to locally develop technologies for us to be globally competi t ive and to create export markets . This forum also should explore how this local ta lent b e utilized t o create innovation. References: Bandara. H.M.N.D., A. P. Jayasumana and T. H. Illangasekare, 2008. "Cluster Tree Based Self Organization of Virtual Sensor Networks," Proc. IEEE Globecom Workshop on Wireless Mesh and Sensor Networks, New Orleans, LA, Nov. 2008. National Stience Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 4 Global Forum of Sri Lankan Scientists - 13-15 December 2011 Bamhart, K, I. Urteaga, Q. Han, A. Jayasuraana, T. Illangasekare, 2010. On Integrating Groundwater Transport Models with Wireless Sensor Networks, Groundwater, 48(5). 771-780. De Silva , W.I. ( 2007). A Population Projection of Sri Lanka For The Millennium, 2001-21001: Trend and Applications, Institute of Health Policy, ppl04. Illangasekare, T.H., S.W. Tyler, T. P. Clement, K. G. Villholth, A. P. G. R. L. Perera, J.Obeysekera, A. Gunatilaka, C. R. Panabokke, D. W. Hyndman, K.J. Cunningham, J. J . Kaluarachchi, W.-G. Yeh, M. T. van Genuchten,12 and K. Jensen, 2006. Impacts of the 2004 tsunami on groundwater resources in Sri Lanka. Water Res. Resh., VOL. 42, W0520I. Illangaseker, T.H., J.Obeysekera, D. Hyndman, L. Perera, M. Vithanage and A. Gunatilaka, 2009. Impacts of the 2004 Tsunami and Subsequent Water Restoration Action in Sri Lanka, in Decision Support for Natural Disasters and Intentional Threats to Water Security, NATO Science for Peace and Security Series-: Environmental Secirity (ed. T.H. Illangasekare, K. Mahutova and J, Barich Springer 2009, 251 pages. Manchanayak, P. and C M . Madduma Bandara, (1999). Water Resources of Sri Lanka,, Natural Resource Series 4, National Science Foundation, Colombo, pp 112. Porta, L., T. H. Illangasekare, P. Loden, Q. Han and A. Jayasumana, 2009. Continuous Plume Monitoring Using Wireless Sensors: Proof Of Concept In Intermediate Scale Tank, ASCE. J. of Envir. Engineering ,J. Envir. Engrg. Volume 135, Issue 9, pp. 831- 838. Samarajiva, R., D. Goswami, and E. Rebecca, (2006). Concept Paper for a Dam- related Hazard Warning System in Sri Lanka, LIRNE Asia, pp 32. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland.Place, Colombo 07 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Ariff BongSO obtained MSc and PhD (Distinction) fronr the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Canada: DSc from National University of Singapore (NUS); DSc from the University of Peradeniya and Fellowships of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, UK and the Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. He is Research Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at NUS and was awarded the National Science Award (Singapore) (1988; 2002): Asian Innovation Award (Gold) (2002); Excellence for Singapore Award (2003) and ASEAN Outstanding Scientist Award (2005). He is a founder scientist of Embryonic Stem Cell International, Singapore, holds several patents and has 480 publications. Stem Cells: F r o m Bench to Bedside Ariff Bongso. Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore 119074 Almost every day w e hear o f news reports that s t em.ce l l biology is med ic ine ' s new frontier and how it is going to change our lives by providing cures for almost every incurable disease. This hope is entangled with politics, religious and ethical concerns and has been unjustly associated with reproduct ive cloning. The road map towards taking stem cells to the clinic is long and involves the ove rcoming of many technical and safety hurdles. However , current research data shows that the journey is a posit ive one and s tem cells have the potential to improve the quali ty o f lives o f mill ions o f people around the world. In the human embryo , unspecial ized cells called 'embryonic stem cells ' cont inuously go through a process called differentiation where they divide to form specialized cells that eventual ly form the various tissues and organs o f the human adult. It has been hypothesised that some of these unspecial ized stem cells that do not complete differentiation eventual ly end up in a dormant state in the adult organs ('adult stem cells ') and are recruited for tissue repair during disease but their numbers are small to help overcome the disease on their own. Today , s tem cells have been isolated in the laboratory from embryos , the fetus, fetal membranes , umbilical cord and adult organs. They have the unique properties of self-renewal and can be converted into desi rable t issues in the laboratory dish. In preparing such transplantable tissues for the repair of diseased organs, the strategies used by laboratories is to first s t imulate these stem cells to mult iply in large numbers in their unspecial ized state by g rowing them in special culture envi ronments (cell l ines), and then National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 6 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 treating the cells with specific agents to control their fate a long one lineage so that the final converted t issue can be transplanted into the diseased organ (Bongso and Lee, 2011) . Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent or the 'mother of all ce l l s ' as they can be converted into every tissue of the human body. Thus , theoretically, several target diseases can b e treated by mak ing the t issue o f cho ice for transplantat ion from ESCs. Stem cells from the fetus, fetal membranes , umbilical cord and adult organs are mesenchymal (MSCs) , mult ipotent and can be converted into a specific number of t issues. Hematopoie t ic s tem cells (HSCs) found in the bone mar row usually specialize into one l ineage (blood cells) . ESCs , M S C s and H S C s can be further dist inguished by the presence o f their own specific biochemical markers (surface markers and C D ant igens) . Since the first isolation of human ESCs (hESCs) (Bongso et al., 1994) and the subsequent establ ishment o f the first h E S C line (Thomson et al . , J 998) , research on hESCs has been robust leading to their convers ion into a wide variety of desirable tissues for 2 transplantation therapy. Transplantat ion o f these hESC-der ived tissues into diseased animal models have resulted in successful engraftmeni and functional ou tcome for diabetes, heart, Park inson ' s and several other debil i tat ing diseases (La F lamme et al., 2007 ; Shim et al., 2007 ; Yang et al., 2008) . Unfortunately however , hESC-der ived t issue transplantation is fraught with the concerns of immunoreject ion of the transplanted tissues (since the original source of the h E S C s is from donor embryos) , and the possible induction of tumours . Tumor igenes is is brought about by residual rogue unconver ted pluripotent hESCs residing in the converted cell populat ion and being accidently transferred during transplantat ion (Bongso et al., 2010) . T o overcome the problem of immunoreject ion, protocols were recently developed to personalize tissues to the patient. This involved reprogramming the pa t ien t ' s skin cells to the embryonic state by introducing pluripotent genes into the skin cells so as to generate the patient 's own h E S C s (Takahashi et al. . 2007) . This approach referred to as human induced pluripotent stem cell (h iPSC) technology bypasses ethical sensitivities in the use o f human embryos and a l lows the convers ion of the pa t ien t ' s own reprogrammed hiPSCs to the t issue of choice for correcting her specific disease. However , even though immunoreject ion is ove rcome , h iPSC-der ived t issue transplantat ion also runs the risk of tumour formation from residual unconverted pluripotent h iPSCs (Gut ierrcz-Aranda et al., 2 0 ) 0 ) . Recently, a protocol was developed to remove the left-over unconverted hF.SCs/hiPSCs so as to e l iminate the potential problem of tumour formation but the transplantat ion o f der ived tissues after using this protocol has not as yet been tested in the human (Tang et al., 2011), Al though research on hESCs/h iPSCs at the laboratory bench is progressing at unbel ievable momen tum their rout ine clinical applicat ion has National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maidand Place, Colombo 07 7 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 been slow because o f the stringent safety regulatory approvals that are needed for such cell based therapies . Recently, the first F D A approved clinical trial for the transplantat ion of hESC-der ived neural cells ( G R N O P C 1 ) into spinal cord injury patients commenced . Prel iminary results show that the patients have not suffered from any pathologies thus far. When the same human G R N O P C 1 cells were injected into demyel inated spinal cord lesions induced in non-human pr imates (mult iple sclerosis) the data showed that G R N O P C 1 cells survived at the lesion site and progressively promoted remyelinat ion of axons (Geron Corp , USA) . Several studies have also assessed the fate of disease progression when M S C s from the bone mar row of a patient are transplanted into her own diseased o rgans (auto logous) such as for myocardia l infarction, spinal co rd injury, liver and other diseases. Despite some encouraging results, large controlled clinical trials have not as yet confirmed a genuine functional ou tcome to r ecommend this approach routinely. It was reported that the mechan i sms for any improved functional ou tcome o f autologous bone mar row M S C transfer was the initiation o f t issue repair th rough (1 ) paracr ine secret ion factors mobil ized from neighboring envi ronments within the pa t ien t ' s body, (2) st imulation o f already exist ing s tem-l ike progeni tor cells within the host diseased organ and (3) decreasing inflammation and immune react ions (Dimmeler et al . , 2008) , The 3 transplantat ion of autologous or donor (al logeneic) M S C s from healthy fetal and adult organs into diseased organs have also shown engraftment and good functional ou tcome but the results here again have been controversial because o f the absence o f large posi t ive controlled clinical trials. H S C s harvested from the bone mar row have been used to treat mal ignant blood diseases ( leukemias , lymphomas) for many years . Unfortunately, the l imitations in the use of bone mar row HSCs have been (1) the inadequate cell numbers for transplantat ion for adult patients and (2) the pain, morbidi ty and potential risk o f infection during cell harvest from the bone marrow. There has thus been the need to repeat H S C doses by recruit ing more matched donors which are usually hard to obtain. Alternatively, the use of HSCs from umbilical cord blood ( U C B ) is gaining popular i ty as their harvest is not painful and there is no risk of infection to the patient. U C B contains H S C s that appear to have higher growth rates and immunological tolerance compared to those in bone marrow. Unfortunately in U C B as well , the H S C yields are low and adequate only for the t reatment o f malignant b lood diseases in children. It was estimated that for successful engraftment in a leukemic patient at least 2.5 x 106 HSCs per kg of patient body weight is required but a good U C B harvest from a single umbilical cord generates only about 10 x 106 HSCs which is adequate only for a 4 kg child (Zhang et al., 2006) . Notwiths tanding this, cord blood HSC National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 transplantation has given excellent results in the t reatment o f leukemias and lymphomas in children and with the deve lopment of more reliable H S C expansion methods in the future it would soon be a useful protocol for treating malignant blood diseases in adults and also non-mal ignant blood diseases such as thalassemia. Pregnant mothers are therefore encouraged to store their cord blood in cord blood banks for such purposes . Recently, there has been interest in the derivation and use o f M S C s from the humanumbi l ica l cord matrix ( W h a r t o n ' s je l ly) . Such W h a r t o n ' s j e l ly s tem cells ( h W J S C s ) have high growth rates, can be converted into many desirable t issues, are not rejected and do not produce tumours (Fong et al., 2 0 1 0 ; Gau thaman et al., 2011) . The results of recent studies demonst ra ted that h W J S C s harvested from the same pa t ien t ' s umbil ical cord provided a useful source of stromal support (scaffold) for expans ion of her own HSCs as the H S C s at tached and multiplied very well on h W J S C monolayers grown in plastic dishes (Fong et al., 2011) . h W J S C s therefore serve as useful adjuncts to concurrent cord blood HSC storage in cord blood banks to serve as scaffolds for future expansion of HSCs for the treatment of mal ignant and non-mal ignant blood diseases as well as for the treatment of other diseases after convers ion into the desired tissue o f choice. The preferred option for the correct ion of some diseases has been to take advantage o f the advances o f tissue engineer ing by t ransplant ing t issue constructs rather than the direct injection o f cells into the damaged site. For example , providing damaged carti lage or bone with a scaffold enmeshed with the appropriate stem cells would provide a three-dimensional architecture that would have many niches for op t imum growth and 4 conversion o f the s tem cells to chondrocytes via signaling factors at the site o f injury. O f the various scaffolds, b iodegradable nanofibres o f various topographies prepared by electrospinning nanotechnology appear to be the most efficient in helping s tem cells to convert to bone and cartilage (Gau thaman et al., 2 0 1 0 ; Fong et al., 2011) . In summary , s tem cell clinical applicat ion has not reached its full potential beyond the successful t reatment o f mal ignant blood diseases. However , given the robustness of s tem cell research in many laboratories wor ldwide, it would not be too long before evidenced-based large controlled clinical trials show its benefits for the t reatment of a variety of incurable diseases. Besides their use in the treatment of disease, s tem cells also have uses in toxicity testing, drug screening and discovery, as vehicles for gene therapy and in the product ion of useful derivat ives for the cosmet ic industry. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 References: Bongso A, Lee EH. 2011. Stem Cells:,From Bench to Bedside. World Scientific Publishing Company, Singapore. Bongso A, Fong CY, Gauthaman K. 2010. Taking stem cells to the clinic. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 105: 1352-1360. Bongso A, Fong CY, Ng SC, Ratnam SS. 1994. Isolation and culture of inner cell mass cells from human blastocysts. Human Reproduction 9: 2110-2117. Dimmeler S, Burchfield J, Zeiher AM. 2008. Cell based therapy of myocardial infarction. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 28: 208-216. Fong CY, Gauthaman K, Cheyyatraivendran S, Lin HD, Biswas A, Bongso A. 2011. Human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly stem cells and its conditioned medium support hematopoietic stem cell expansion ex vivo. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry (DOI: 10.1002/jcb.23395). Fong CY, Subramanian A, Biswas A, Gauthaman K, Srikanth P, Hande MP, Bongso A. 2010. Derivation efficiency, cell proliferation, frozen-thaw survival, stem cell properties, and differentiation of human Wharton's jelly stem cells. Reproductive BioMedicine Online 21: 391-401. Fong CY, Subramanian A, Gauthaman K, Venugopal J, Biswas A, Ramakrishna S, Bongso A. 2011. Human Wharton's jelly stem cells undergo enhanced chondrogenic differentiation when grown on nanoscaffolds and exposed to a sequential two-stage culture medium environment. Stem Cells Reviews and Reports 4 0 % of chi ldren in Hong Kong being infected b y September 2009 . Fortunately, the virus was relatively mild, especially so in young children. This exper ience highlights the chal lenge that would be posed b y a more virulent pandemic virus in the future. The pandemic H1N1 (2009) virus has n o w become endemic in pigs wor ldwide and is reassort ing with other swine virus to generate novel viruses of potential risk for human health. Defining the viral genetic basis for transmissibil i ty in humans may help detect and contain animal viruses o f potential threat to human health before they become pandemic . Avian influenza H 5 N 1 remains endemic in poultry across m a n y Asian countr ies . Al though this virus infects humans relatively rarely at present, when it occurs , human disease is associated with h igh (>30%) mortal i ty. If such a virus were to b e c o m e pandemic , its impact could be catastrophic. Unders tanding the mechan i sms underlying the severi ty o f avian flu H5N1 disease may help to devise novel therapeutic opt ions. Novel "universa l" vaccine and therapeutic strategies that provide broad cross protect ion against mult iple influenza virus subtypes are needed and are now an area for intense research. N e w approaches for the ear ly detection and identification of novel pa thogens and for rapid assessment of disease severity are needed. Confronting emerging infectious disease threats requi res a broad ecological perspect ive and a mult i-discipl inary effort involving those in the human health sector, veterinary medic ine , wild-life conservat ion, environmental sciences, economics , sociology and social an thropology a m o n g others. References: Peiris JSM & Parrish C. Emerging viruses. Current Opinion in Virology. - in press. Smith GJ, — Peiris JS, Guan Y, Rambaut A. Origins and evolutionary genomics of the 2009 swine-origin HINI influenza A epidemic. Nature. 2009;459:1122-5. Vijaykrishna D , — Peiris JSM. Long-term evolution and transmission dynamics of swine influenza A virus. Nature. 2011 May 26;473(7348);519-22. Yen HL, -- Peiris M. Hemagglutinin-neuraminidase balance confers respiratory-droplet transmissibility of the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in ferrets. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 2011; 108(34);14264-9. Peiris JSM et al. Host response to influenza virus: protection versus immunopathology. Curr Opin Immunol. 2010;22:475-81. Peiris JSM et al. Avian influenza vims (H5N1): a threat to human health. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2007;20:243-67. Peiris JSM et al. The severe acute respiratory syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2003; 349:2431-41. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 13 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Gehan Amaratunga FREng., FIET, CEng. Obtained his BSc ('79) from Cardiff University and PhD ('83) from Cambridge, hoth in electrical/electronic engineering. He has held the 1966 Professorship in Engineering at the University of Cambridge since 1998. He currently heads the Electronics, Power and Energy Conversion Group, one of four major research groups within the Electrical Engineering Division of the Cambridge Engineering Faculty. He has an active research programme on the synthesis and electronic applications of carbon nanotubes and other nanoscale materials. His group has many 'firsts' emanating from his research in carbon, including field emission from N doped thin film amorphous carbon and diamond, laboratory synthesis of carbon nanonions, tctrahedral amorphous carbon ('amorphous diamond')-Si hetcrojunctions , deterministic growth of single isolated carbon nanotubes in devices, high current nanotube field emitters and the polymcr-nanotube composite solar cells. He currently sits on the steering committee of the Nokia-Cambridge University Strategic Collaboration on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and is the head of the Nokia-CU Nanotechnology for Energy Programme. His group was amongst the first to demonstrate integration of logic level electronics for signal processing and high voltage power transistors in a single IC (chip). His current research is focussed on integrated power conversion circuits. He is a co-founder of CamSemi - which is commercialising a new generation of power a n d mixed-signal ICs for power management with venture capital investment. He is also a founder of Enecsys, a company formed with his research students to develop and market integrated electronics (microinverters) for grid connection of solar PV systems. Nanoinstruments, a company he founded with his colleagues to commercialise CNT synthesis equipment was acquired by Aixtron AG in 2007. He has previously held faculty positions at the Universities of Liverpool (Chair in Electrical Engineering), Cambridge, and Southampton. He has held the UK Royal Academy of Engineering Overseas Research Award at Stanford University and been a Royal Society visitor at the School of Physics, University of Sydney. He has published over 450 journal and conference papers. Professor Amaratunga was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2004. In 2007 he was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal 'for outstanding personal contributions to British engineering' F r o m Research to Commerc ia l Products in Electronics Gehan A. J. Amaratunga, Dept of Engineering. University of Cambridge. UK The commercial izat ion of new concepts in electronics through formation of start-up companies is discussed. Three companies in which the author has been associated as a founder are examined as examples . O n e a fabless semiconductor integrated circuit ( IC) company in the area o f p o w e r management , another an inverter company in which IC technology is coupled National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 14 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 with novel power electronics at the module level for efficient connect ion o f solar power to the gird and one in the area of nanotechnology equipment . It is shown that there are different routes and t ime frames over which start-up companies can be formed and funded. Both cases, though different, show the opportuni t ies which exist for enabl ing new technologies to emerge from academic research into the market through venture capital funded start-up companies . H o w can dynamism and growth in research be translated to match its central role in enabl ing new commerc ia l technologies? T o answer this quest ion, at least partially, it is instructive consider the trajectory o f microelectronics over the past 2 0 years in enabl ing the 'revolution* in consumer electronics. A salient feature is the creation of new start-up companies to exploit a specific 'd i s rupt ive ' technology advance backed by r isk/venture capital. The 'd is rupt ive ' technology originates, usually, ei ther from a universi ty laboratory or a large mult i -product company , which has no commerc ia l incentive to deve lop it on its own. In te rms o f innovat ion and growth in microelectronics , the start-up company is n o w an established part of the ' e co sys t em ' . So much so, that many established and publicly quoted companies in microelectronics rely on innovat ions to be developed and demonst ra ted within start-up companies , which are then acquired based on compet i t ive and commerc ia l needs. A key enabler for start-up companies in microelectronics to release 'd i s rup t ive ' integrated circuits has been the availabil i ty o f s ta te-of the art contract IC fabrication facilities in the form of Si foundries. These companies are therefore ' fab less ' , but have access to the state of the art in t e rms o f IC fabrication, without any disadvantage compared to an IC company with its own manufacturing facilities. They can therefore focus on design innovat ion in a very specific area, for example , say, a single chip radios for a new standard, knowing that they can be compet i t ive in terms o f manufactur ing costs , including assembly , packaging and test. In this presentat ion I will d iscuss the experience gained in sett ing up three start-up companies in the Semiconductor , Power Elect ronics and Nanotechnology areas respectively. M o r e specifically, all three companies emanate from research which commenced in a Universi ty environment , was gestated within it and spun-out with venture capital investment. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 15 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Ravi Si lva B A M A PhD F R E n g C E n g CPhys F I E E FInstP F R S A is the Director of the Advanced Technology Institute ( A T I ) at the University of Surrey and heads the Nano-Electronics Centre ( N E C ) , which is an interdisciplinary research activity. The A T I have over 160 researchers working in interdisciplinary teams to address some of the grand challenges faced by humanity. The N E C has over 50 research staff, and is one of the leading laboratories in carbon based electronics worldwide. Prof. Si lva has recently concluded one of the most successful Portfolio Partnership awards for £6.68m with Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ( E P S R C ) on Integrated Electronics and at present is working closely with E.On on fourth generation hybrid solar cells for large area deployment. He is working with the Royal Academy of Engineering and colleagues in India on the large scale deployment of solar technologies in India. Prof. S i lva joined Surrey in 1995, prior to which he was at the Engineering Department at Cambridge University for his undergraduate and postgraduate work. His research has resulted in over 400 presentations at international conferences, and over 380 archival journal papers. He has published in Nature, Science, Nature Materials, Advanced Materials, NanoLetters, Physical Review Letters, Applied Physics Letters among the many journals. He is the inventor of 20 patents, including key patents on Low temperature growth of carbon nanotubes, Large area low-k material. Electron field emission back plane structures and one on the Fabrication of large area nanotube-organic solar cells and lighting. The research conducted has already resulted in two spin out companies backed by venture capital funding. One of the companies. Surrey NanoSystems Ltd., won the spin-out company of the year 2007 award from the Engineer Magazine. He is the Chief Scientific Officer ( C S O ) for the company. In 2001 he was awarded the Charles Vernon Boys Medal by the Institute of Physics, and in 2003 awarded the I E E Achievement Award by the Institute of Electrical Engineers. He was awarded the Albert Einstein Silver Medal and Javed Husain Prize by U N E S C O for contributions to electronic devices. In 2007, Prof. Si lva was the runner-up of the "Times Higher Education Young Scientist of the Year" , and "Most Entrepreneurial Scientist 2007. United Kingdom", by U K S E C and Science Alliance of the Netherlands. He was awarded the Clifford-Patterson Lecture and Award by the Royal Society for 2011. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society o f Arts in 2007. In 2008 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, U K . In 2009 he was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences Sri Lanka for contributions to science, and setting up two private-public partnerships to exploit nanotechnology as a vehicle from which to create wealth for the nation that will allow for poverty alleviation in the country. By introducing high technology in to the manufacturing base in Sri Lanka he has spearheaded a drive to introduce innovation and competitiveness in to the industrial sector within the country. He was a member of the E P S R C Nanotechnology Task Force and Technology Opportunities Panel ( T O P ) , and a founder member of the Nanotechnology Task Force in the United Kingdom chaired by Dr Ian Gibson MP. National Science Foundation, 47/5, Maitland Place, Colombo 07 16 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Wealth Creation for a Sustainable Future via Nanotechnology &R.P. Silva, Director, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7X11. UK. Emuil: s.silva@surrey.ac.uk Developing nations such as Sri Lanka are facing an uphill battle to devote sufficient resources for research and deve lopment in the increasingly volatile economic condi t ions with surging oil and commodi ty prices. But, for the longer term prosperi ty o f the nation significant resources must be put into technology innovation and manufacturing if we are to move from a developing nation to developed one. With the end of the internal civil conflict, which placed a heavy burden on the nat ion 's resources , it is now t ime to look with opt imism for the country to harness the creativity and innovation of the people to create wealth via high technology manufacture and services. But, in an increasingly compet i t ive world there must be key differentiators identified before large scale investment in a technology sector to show suitable returns on the investment, within a defined t imescale . Should this be possible , policy makers need to be suitably engaged to show the value of technology in the deve lopment o f the na t ion ' s technology base and to wealth creation. So , where does the country go if it is to mobil ise its huge human capital in the form of trained scientists to get itself out of the present predicament o f low value export goods and low R & D investment? One solution, probably the key solution for a country such as Sri Lanka to emerge from poverty is, technology. In this brief paper, presented at the Global Forum, 1 leave it to the audience to decide the potential o f Nanotechnology to provide a solution for Wealth Creation to the Nat ion. I will use the impending energy crisis the world is likely to face in the next 20-30 years and show how novel green energy forms need to be developed to overcome some of the issues such as c l imate change via nanoscale design of new renewable energy sources. The design o f materials in the nanoscale al lows for new hybrid materials to be developed that can be utilised not only for novel energy scavenging appl icat ions but also for large area solid state lighting, energy storage and even helping to contr ibute to the hydrogen economy by examining routes for the electrolysis of water. Nanotechnology can not only contribute to novel energy technologies , but also within the fields o f electronics, medicine, t ransportat ion, instrumentation, manufacturing etc. T o maximise the benefits o f technology and its contr ibutions to the national economy, technologists must be consulted and their v iews taken into considerat ion in a fully fledged Science and Technology policy for the nation to create wealth. In order to create wealth, significant investment must be made by both the public and the private sector, and this investment must be made in the appropriate areas. For governments to encourage more private sector participation, not only has the policy and National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 17 mailto:s.silva@surrey.ac.uk Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 governance to be right, but also the tax and incentives for high technology enterprise. One has only to look towards the U S A to see how suitable tax incentives can not only drive the technology agenda, but also bring significant wealth to the nation. T h e renewable energy sector is defined as the effective use o f natural resources for the product ion of energy, which are naturally replenished. These primarily include solar, wind, hydro, tidal, b iomass and bio fuels for transportation as the sources o f energy. Sri Lanka and other developing nations have many of these natural resources, and it is important for a national pol icy to be established in the exploitation of these important assets. The emergence of nanotechnology is further improving the routes for exploitation of these resources, and wi th a suitable policy and envi ronment it would not b e long before significant returns can be obtained for policies adopted by nations in the development and exploitation of nanotechnology. At present over 80 nations have an identified nanotechnology policy, and the number is increasing very rapidly. Lux Research est imated over US$ 150 Billion worth of nano-enabled products in 2007 . The figure is set to reach U S $ 3 Trillion in 2015 . Nanotechnology fundamentally embraces the science and engineering issues encountered at the nanometre length scale. It is about the identification, manipulat ion, and fabrication of systems to perform useful functions in the length scale of 1-100 nm. It promises much more for less: smaller, cheaper , lighter and faster devices that have greater functionality, use less material and consume less energy. Sir John Taylor indicated that: "Any industry (or country) that fails to investigate the potential of nanotechnology, and put in place its own strategy for deal ing with it, is putting its business at r isk". 1 Nanotechno logy p romises a manufactur ing revolution in near ly all sectors, that include energy (production and storage), materials ( includes organic and inorganic, hybrid systems, metrology) , medicine and health (including therapeutics and diagnost ics) , water and the environment , electronics/information technology, mechanical products , instruments. But, for such potential to be obtained a coherent strategy is essential; one with suitable safeguards in order to have robust policy that directs research & development activities down a path that is commensura te with the government strategy aimed at creat ing wealth for the nation. Implementat ion of a unified strategy using a high level team of technologists and policy makers working in t andem with government depar tments , industry and the academic sector, will ensure max imum benefits to the country. Without such a strategy much o f the l imited ' New Dimensions for Manufacturing: A U K Strategy for Nanotechnology A report prepared by Dr. John M Taylor, Director-General of the U K Research Counci ls, chairing the Nanotechnology Advisory Group, Ju ly 2002. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 18 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 resources being used to fund nanotechnology will operate in isolation and lead to no accumulated benefits. 1 will introduce the key issues associated with the energy problem faced by humani ty at present, and how fabrication of inexpensive photovoltaic devices could be the key to producing renewable energy sources that will a l low for a sustainable solution. Within the presentation I will introduce some of the key areas being developed in the quest for solution processable solar cells, and how nanotechnology is being used to opt imise the harvest ing of energy from the sunlight bathing the earth. On a dai ly basis the sun bathes the earth with the equivalent of 165,000 T W of power. The total current usage of power by the world population is equivalent to - 1 0 T W today. There is a huge disparity between the energy arriving from the sun on the earth and that used to produce photo-electricity. There are many routes to produce solar cells, but these are either of limited dimension and very expensive to produce. If one can sacrifice part of the efficiency but gain on cost, there are means to make the energy product ion route via solar energy economical ly viable. One route for captur ing the energy from the sun is to use polymer based solar cells in the form of thin film hetero-structures. By designing solar cells with pre-dctermined interpenetrating bulk heterojunctions at the nano-meter scale, where each exciton created would not need to travel more than lOnm to reach the electrodes, high efficiency cells that are inexpensive to produce could be manufactured. We at Surrey have been working on the organic- inorganic systems based on multi walled carbon nanotubes ( M W ( ' N T ) as the inorganic component . These composi te materials may be in the form of a solution that can easily be applied to surfaces with a method such as dip-coat ing. The nano- enginccred materials not only help in the charge carrier separation but can also increase the absorption within the materials , and be suitable for portable and are necessary for humani ty to live the lifestyle they have become accustomed to at present, flexible l ight-weight substrates such as plastics. But, this is but one of the facets to this mult i -dimensional problem, that can have many different scenarios and potential solutions. What is absolutely certain is that new and sustainable renewable energy sources The key points in u«,ing nanostructures to capture solar energy is the ability to tailor the ' re la t ive ' bulk of the material in a nanoscopic manner such that the National Science Foundation, 47 /5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 19 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 capture cross-section for the excitons can be expanded and extended in range. This is illustrated, where expanded surface areas or concentrator surfaces for the exci tons are created by adding nano-part iclcs into the bulk of the organic materials, which help not only in the charge transport but also in the exciton capture and dissociation o f the charge carriers. W e can also extend the spectral range in which the solar harvesters operate and also extend the working temperature of the devices and thus increase the potential to further concentrate the light falling upon the cells for added efficiency. But, the key point to note is that the cost of producing such devices must be kept to a minimum in order to make the devices widely available at an affordable cost. Any potentially screen printable or solution processablc process can be scaled up and sold at relatively low cost. S O L U T I O N P R O C E S S A B L E : I n o r g a n i c s - i n - O r g a n i c s The scope in using clever materials engineer ing on the nanoscale to solve energy problems is unlimited, and we should all look towards nano-engineered materials for cheap large are electronics for high quality products in the future. The Advanced Technology Institute of Surrey University is leading the way in this new area of " inorganics- in-organic" composi tes , and the future is very bright for composi te devices based on these concepts . A systematic s tudy o f using such a concept to capture solar energy and produce efficient lighting based on the model carbon nanotube-organic system is discussed below; but the lessons learnt can be applied to many other inorganics-in-organics sys tems throughout the material world with the potential benefits being very large. Organic Light Emitting Diode InterpenetMtinf CN T for ton m i c t i o n or collect i Ha no-textured i n t e r f a c e ^ Interpenetrat ing CN T tor ho»e injection or collection * Transparent flexible electrode* and s u t o t r t t e t Organl Photovoltaic Device Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have recently emerged as a unique material suitable for hybrid macro-electronic devices employing organic semiconductors , with the potential to address many of the barriers to the widespread exploitation o f organic semiconductors as the basis o f low cost. National Science Foundation, 47/5, Maitland Place, Colombo 07 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 large area, flexible optoelectronics. This work focuses on the applicat ions of M W C N T s in organic light emit t ing diodes (OLEDs) and photovoltaics . These devices are currently being pursued with much anticipation as energy efficient solid state lighting and a scalable means of harvest ing electrical energy from sunlight. A further field in which nanotechnology clearly shows its multi-faceted nature in energy is in solid state lighting. The need for adequate lighting represents - 4 0 % of the electricity costs for commercia l businesses and - 2 0 % for domest ic and industrial users. However , a substantial proport ion, if not the greater majority o f exist ing lighting installations use inefficient l ighting equipment- namely incandescent light bulbs (about 2 . 1 % efficiency) and fluorescent lamps (about 8.2% efficiency). The heat dissipated puts an extra burden on air-condit ioning and cool ing systems, thereby increasing electricity consumpt ion and its inherent effects on the environment . Solid state lighting systems based on M W C N T - o r g a n i c sys tems can also give routes to high efficiency, low energy lighting. S o m e work conducted at Surrey in realising this aspect will be highlighted. Work presented will demonst ra te the improved efficiency in the brightness of our devices, when inorganics- in-organics are utilised. C o n c l u s i o n s In summary , Sri Lankan technology has much to offer but to achieve a vibrant eco-system for exploitation it is essential that we have a coherent top down policy that provides a viable path for taking the process from science to technology to companies and the private sector. If the principle of the free market economy-i .e . , that everything will find its own level-is extended to the new industries and technologies within it, the government must accept that the bolder and more commercia l ly astute economies in the world will take the initiative and reap the benefits. Nanotechnology is the future. It will underpin future deve lopments in health, industry and the environment . Failure to invest now in nanotechnology is a failure to invest in our future. National Science Foundation, 47 /5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 21 Global F o r u m o f S r i Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 "Nanotechnology is being heralded as a new technological revolution, one so profound that it will touch all aspects of human society." References R.A. Hatton, V. Stolojan, S.R.P. Silva el al. Langmuir, 23 (11) (2007) 6424-6430; Ross A. Hatton, S.R.P. Silva et al. (invited review), J. Mater. Chem., 18 (2008) 1183- 1192. A.J. Miller, S.R.P. Silva etal . Appl. Phvs. Lett., 89(2006)123115, Appl. Phys. Lett., 89 (2006)133117. D.M.N. Dissanayake, S.R.P. Silva et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 90 (2007) 113503: 90 (2007) 253502. S. J. Henley, R. A. Hatton, G. Y. Chen, C. Gao, H. W. Kroto, S. R. P. Silva, Small 3 (2007) 1927-1933. A.A.D.T. Adikaari, Dissanayake, SRP Silva, IEEE Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics (2010). N.A. Nismy, K.D.G.I. Jayawardhane, A.A.D.T. Adikaari, S.R.P. Silva, Adv. Mater. (2011) DOI: 10.1002/adma.201101549 (2011). National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 22 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 13 -15 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 H e m a n t h a K u m a r W i c k r a m a s i n g h e , IBM Fellow (Ret). NAE, F1EEE, Flnst P. FAPS, FRMS, FMRS (Hon) India is a distinguished pioneer m the invention and practical uses of nanotechnology. Dr. Heinantha Kumar Wickramasinghe now manages nanoscience and technology research at IBM's Almaden Research Center, San Jose. Calif. A native of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wickramasinghe was educated at the University of London (B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical I engineering in 197U and 1974, respectively). After a post­ doctoral appointment in the Applied Physics Department at 1 I Stanford University, he joined the Electrical Engineering Department at University College, London, in 1978, gaining tenure in 1982. In 1984, Wickramasinghe joined IBM Research at the T. J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights. N Y . There, he led the team that developed atomic force microscopes (AFMs) into fully hardened instruments that could be used both within IBM and outside. He invented a number of novel scanning probe microscopes and ncar- field optical instruments and applied them to data storage and in-situ measurements that improve the yield and/or throughput ul manufacturing lines. Among the microscopes he helped invent are the vibrating mode AIM, magnetic force microscope, electrostatic force microscope, kelvin probe force microscope, scanning thermal microscope and the apertureless near-field optical microscope In June 2 0 0 1 , Wickramasinghe moved to Almaden to lead the development of technology aimed at increasing the data density of magnetic hard disk drives. He was named manager of nanoscale and quantum studies in August 2002 . Dr. Wickramasinghe is a fellow of the American Physical Society, and ihe United Kingdom's Institute of Physics. Institution of Electrical Engineers ilEE). the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Royal Microscopical Society. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998. In 2000 , Wickramasinghe and Calvin Quate of Stanford U. received the American Physical Soceity's Joseph F. Keithley Award for their "pioneering contributions to nanoscale measurement science through their leadership in the development of a range of nanoscale force microscopes that have had major impact in many areas of physics." Devices for Probing the Nanoscale in Biology H. Kumar Wickramasinghe. University oj ( alijorniu, lirvuK, i I 92b')7, USA The US has budgeted S3.8B for nanotechnology R & D in 2 0 1 1 . Europe and Japan are spending R & D dollars at a s imilar level. If we look at the developments in science and technology that sparked this nanotechnology revolut ion, we can identify o n e key enablcr - namely the invention and development of the Scanning Tunnel ing Microscope ( S T M ) and the related Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM) ; they enabled us to visualize and control National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 23 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 surfaces at the atomic and molecular levels. Today, one cannet imagine any laboratory in the world involved in nanotechnology that does not use this family of instruments. S P M ' s however were developed mainly with a focus on applications to materials science, semiconductors and storage. With the I emergence of nano-bio technology as a rapidly growing field of research, there is a burning need to develop an entirely new set of tools to understand , measure and quantify the nanoscale in biology. Indeed this need has been recognized by all the leading research Universit ies in the US . W e are creating the next generation of tools, and methods to probe the nanoscale in biology together with its underlying science. The areas where novel nanoscale tools are needed is vast; they range from tools for low cost high speed D N A sequencing addressing the 10 year N1H initiative ($1000 genome project) for personalized medicine to novel ways for in-situ protein sequencing. In the area of molecular biology, the ability to measure and understand the chemical activity and processes within living cells on the nanoscale will provide entirely novel capabil i t ies. Such tools will undoubtedly provide new data, create new discoveries and help us understand the causes of diseases and may even help early diagnosis and cure. The tool sets that w e are developing should also open up the possibili ty not only to measure the biological envi ronment on the nanoscale but also to selectively modify that environment . The capabili ty will enable scientists to investigate the action of specific drugs or enzymes on the functioning of living systems. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 24 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 A.. P. de Silva studied and taught at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and is now at the Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. With his co-workers, he introduced the field of molecular logic and generalized the luminescent P E T sensor/switch principle. He contributed to the chemistry module of the O P T I ™ blood gas/electrolyte analyzer (Optimedical Inc.), which has sales of 80 M U S D so far. He was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 2002. He won the Royal Society of Chemistry sensors award in 2008. From Chemistry to Medical Diagnostics and Information Processing Gareth J. Brown,' A. Prasanna de Silva,' Kaorn lwai,2 Gareth D. McClean,' Bernadine O.F. McKinney,' David C. Magri,' Seiichi Vchiyama' andSheenagh M. Weir1 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Department of Chemistry. Nara Women's University, Kitauoya-N'ishimachi. Nara, Japan, 'Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo. Hongo. Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo , Japan E-mail: a.desilva(a qub.ac.uk Designed molecules of nanometr ic size allow us enter the subject of information handling. Chemical scientists have the skills to launch molecular vehicles to explore small inaccessible spaces and to send back raw or processed information that we can act upon in the real world, e.g. in a medical context . The design of the molecules is as follows. Photoinduccd electron transfer (PET) is the heart of photosynthesis and is a major channel of de-exci t ing excited states. Luminescence is another such channel . The controlled competi t ion of luminescence with photoinduced electron transfer (PET) can switch the luminescence ' o n ' or ' o f f by chemical means (e.g. a cation C ) in an easy, predictable manner. The modular nature of " lumophore-spacer- receptor ' systems is not only vital for the occurrence of PET (Figure 1), but also for the prediction of system characteristics such as colours of the optical signals and the concentrat ion range of the chemical species. The first-generation sys tems use a single chemical controller. These give rise to examples which monitor sodium levels in blood within mil l imeter-sized channels or the status of acidic compar tments in micrometer-s ized cells. Some of these even map proton distributions in nanometr ic spaces near membranes . 2 Notably, some of these serve wider society by operat ing in hospital intensive care units (Figure 2), National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 25 http://qub.ac.uk Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 LUMOPHORE SPACER RECEPTOR hv A b s LUMOPHORE S P A C E R RECEPTOR Figure 1. The behaviour of a 'lumophore-spacer-reccptor' system with and without a cation C" Figure 2. The O P T I ™ blood electrolyte and gas analyzer sold by Optimedical Inc. The second-generat ion systems use multiple chemical controllers. These form molecular-scale information p rocessors 4 ' 5 which employ chemical species as inputs, light as output and wireless interfacing to human operators . Some of these processors are se l f -assembled 6 and they operate comfortably in nanometer-s ized regions near membranes , ' These spaces are too small for the tiniest si l icon-based electronic devices to enter. Such molecular logic devices are continually growing in complexi ty. Some of these have potential as ' l ab - on-a-molecule ' systems for intelligent medical d iagnost ics . 8 Others allow molecular computat ional identification (MCID) of nano/micrometr ic ob jec ts . 9 This is the first of such applications which addresses a problem that does not currently have solutions from semiconductor comput ing technology. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 2 6 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Refe rences Electron Transfer in Chemistry, Balzani, V. Ed.,Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2001 Uchiyama, S.; lwai K.; de Silva, A. P. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 2008, 47, 4667. See OPTIR blood gas and electrolyte analyzers at www.optimedical.com. de Silva A. P . ; Uchiyama, S. Nature Nanotechnol. 2007, 2, 399. de Silva A. P. Chem. Asian J. 2011, 6, 750. de Silva, A. P.; Dobbin, C. J.; Vance T. P.; Wannalerse, B. Chem. Commun. 2009. 1386. Uchiyama, S.; McClean, G. D.; lwai K.; de Silva, A. P. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005,127, 8920. Magri, D. C ; Brown, G. J.; McClean G. D.; de Silva, A. P. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 4950. de Silva, A. P.; James, M. R.; McKinney, B. O. F.; Pears D. A.; Weir S. M. Nature Mater. 2006, 5, 787. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 27 http://www.optimedical.com Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 M onto Cassim was appointed V i c e - C h a n c e l l o r o f T h e R i t sume ikan Trust in Janua ry 2010 . A s Professor o f C o l l e g e o f P o l i c y S c i e n c e , R i t sume ikan Un ive rs i t y , he spec ia l i zes in env i ronmenta l sc ience and health in format ics, and is a lso attached to the R i t sume ikan Cente r for Susta inab i l i ty S c i e n c e . Pr ior to this, he served as President o f R i tsumeikan A s i a Pac i f i c Un ive rs i t y for 6 years. H e has been Hono ra ry V i s i t i n g Professor at K i n g ' s C o l l e g e L o n d o n C i K T Med ica l Schoo l s ince 2 0 0 3 . H e j o i n e d R i t sume ikan as Professor in 1994. H i s research centers on earth-fr iendly and people- f r iend ly techno logy development . H e is current ly wo rk i ng on c l imate change impacts on the ag ro - forestry sector and how we might respond proact ive ly , l ook ing at v i t icul ture and v in icu l ture in a pi lot study conducted in Japan and N e w Z e a l a n d . H e is a lso w o r k i n g to establ ish a network o f b iomed ica l researchers in the under an ini t iat ive termed M E D S Y N A S I A , to prevent emerg ing d iseases in A s i a , such as gas t r oesophagea l adenocarc inoma, and to improve treatment o f prevalent l i festyle related d iseases, such as stroke. H e teaches natural e c o l o g y , focus ing on b iod ivers i ty regeneration in tropical ecosys tems, and industr ial eco logy , wi th an emphas is on l i fe c y c l e assessment and des ign . Toge ther with private industry, he w i l l establ ish a S & T incubator, the D ig i ta l D i scove r i es Research C o l laboratory, in 2 0 1 1 . A S r i L a n k a n nat iona l , C a s s i m has been resident in Japan s ince 1972. H e graduated f rom the Un ive rs i t y o f S r i L a n k a ' s Facu l t y o f Natural S c i e n c e s in 1970 wi th a bache lo r ' s degree f rom the Department o f Arch i tec ture. H i s post-graduate educat ion was in J a p a n , where he rece ived a master 's degree from the Department o f U rban Eng ineer ing in the Graduate S c h o o l o f Eng inee r i ng at the Un ive rs i t y o f T o k y o In 1976. H e was in the doctoral p rogramme o f the same department from 1977-1982 , when he left to j o i n private industry after comple t ing h is doctoral course work . H e has served in both the pr ivate and pub l ic sectors, i nc lud ing a n ine-year per iod at the Uni ted Na t ions Cent re for R e g i o n a l Deve lopment ( 1 9 8 5 - 1 9 9 4 ) , where he was C h i e f Researcher and U N Exper t . Pass ionate about underdevelopment, he was one o f the founders o f T o o l s for S e l f Re l i ance J a p a n , an N G O wh i ch has taken tools, technologies and art isans f rom Japan to deve lop ing countr ies to work wi th impover ished commun i t ies s ince 1993. H e loves b lues mus i c , fast cars and c o o k i n g . . . s o beware ! Innovation beyond boarders: Creating a sustainable science and technology driven open innovation incubation ecosystem Monte Cassim, Vice-Chancellor. The Ritsumeikan Trust, and Professor (Health. Environment and Life Science) Ritsumeikan University: Kyoto, Japan The presentation centers on a science and technology-dr iven open innovation incubation ecosystem, the Digital Discoveries Research Collaboratory ( D D R C ) , which was opened in November 2011 in north-eastern National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 28 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Kyushu, Japan. A high-end super-comput ing and te lecommunica t ions infrastructure with secure data warehousing facilities underpins D D R C ' s research and development . Its first five years, 2011-2016 , will center on developing and execut ing projects which apply advanced digital technologies in five t rans-discipl inary domains , viz: 1. Food, agriculture and environmental science; 2. Health and medical science; 3 . Arts , culture and tour ism deve lopment ; 4. Language , learning and expression; and 5. Craf tsmanship, manufacture and design. D D R C projects draw from the research expert ise in the Ri tsumeikan system and its affiliates within and outside Japan. These partnerships cover academia, industry and government . T h e f i rs t part o f the presentat ion looks al l andmarks in the evolutionary, experimental process which led to the birth o f D D R C . Here it identifies the factors that characterize each stage of the evolut ion and the nature o f the open innovation system at D D R C , which has evolved out o f this experience. The s e c o n d part o f the presentat ion will center on the projects that are part o f D D R C and what is likely to emerge out o f it in the future as an engine for growth and development . Selected projects o f interest to Sri Lanka will be highlighted. The t h i r d concluding part will look at the re levance o f this experience to Sri Lankan development and what partnerships can b e created between Sri Lankan research institutions affiliated to the National Science Foundat ion and the research and development system around D D R C . National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 2 9 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 d i r i m a l i F e r n a n d o is the Cha i rpe rson o l Nat ional S c i e n c e Foundat ion . S r i L a n k a and S c i e n c e A d v i s o r to the Min is ter for Sc ien t i f i c A f fa i r s . S h e is a lso the Professor o f M ic rob io logy . Un ivers i t y o f S r i Jayewardenapura . Sri L a n k a . Start ing her career as a med ica l doctor in 1982. she has served as an un ivers i ty academic and researcher (26 y rs ) and as sc ience administrator for 7 y rs . S h e init iated and coordinated development and implementat ion o f Nat ional S c i e n c e , T e c h n o l o g y and Innovat ion St ra tegy 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 5 . Na t iona l B io techno logy P o l i c y and Nat iona l Nanotechno logy P o l i c y . S h e conceptua l i zed , init iated and coordinated the Nat ional Nano techno logy Ini t iat ive as a pub l ic pr ivate partnership A s a researcher she has deve loped molecu lar d iagnost ics and studied sero-molecu lar eped imeo logy o f dengue, hepatit is, C M V , H I V , V Z V and ant imicrobia l and ant i -v i ra l effects o f tradit ional herbs. S h e had been invo lved in setting up o f m ic rob io logy , v i ro logy , mo lecu lar b i o l o g y and nanotechno logy laboratories. S h e has over 55 indexed and peer rev iewed publ icat ions and commun ica t i ons ; 4 books and 4 chapters. S h e is a recipient o f President ia l A w a r d s for Research and awards for Best Paper at sc ient i f ic sess ions . From Brain Drain to Brain Circulation Sirimali Fernando, Chairperson. National Science Foundation. Cohmho07 In my presentation I shall focus on what is brain drain, the impact o f brain drain, the global and Sri Lankan situations and how to make a win-win situation out o f it. Brain Drain is a phrase first coined by the Royal Society, U K in 1963 when the UK was struggling to stem the exodus of its top brains to the USA. The International Labour Organizat ion now defines Brain Drain as "a permanent or long term international emigration of skilled people who have been the subject of considerable educational investment by their own societies". In addressing this issue we need to distinguish skilled workers - with tertiary education or specialized training, such as teachers, nurses etc. from highly skilled workers such as researchers and university academics with post graduate qualifications. Obviously, a greater investment, longer t ime period and more resources are necessary to .produce a highly skilled person. Impact of brain drain is the effect it has on the complex relationship that exists among highly skilled personnel , technological innovations and economic growth. Technological developments have been the basis for economic growth since the industrial revolution. The economic growth became increasingly dependent on science as the means of innovating and organizing technological change. This process over the last five decades has led to the evolut ion of more National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 knowledge intensive high end technologies such as electronics , 1CT, biotech and nanotech etc. This transformation has shifted the world towards a knowledge economy where Intellectual property and capacity play vital roles in global compet i t iveness of goods and services and wealth creation. In this backdrop , high tech value addition, especially to manufactured expor ts will enhance a coun t ry ' s compet i t iveness in the global market and its economic growth. It is the highly skilled personnel that can generate intellectual property and patents in high end technologies which are valued much more than those based on traditional technologies . Hence there is a high demand for them in the global market and it keeps on increasing. The effect of Brain Drain on Sri Lanka is reflected in the poor contr ibution of Science, Technology and Innovation to economic growth with only 1.5% of exports from Sri Lanka having high tech value addit ion (compared to 7 0 % from S. Korea, 5 6 % from Singapore) . The Brain Drain has led to a vicious cycle where a lower number of highly skilled personnel are avai lable to train the required more highly skilled people; while Sri Lankan society has to bear the fiscal loss of heavy government investment on providing free educat ion up to tertiary level. At a global level the unidirectional pull from developed countr ies for skilled migration affect many developing countr ies . The U S and the E U have clear targets for an educated, workforce development to ensure long- term economic compet i t iveness through clear migration policies to attract foreign workers in particular for those jobs requiring skilled and highly skilled labour. These industrialized countr ies offer temporary migration facilities for highly skilled workers , which can be adjusted based on labour market demands to provide more benefits, such as permanent residence and family reunification. The U S Highly skilled visa - The H-1B p rog ramme (As per the Immigra t ion Act o f 1990), EU Blue Card Scheme and skilled migration scheme in Austral ia are few examples . The High global demand for Scientists and Technologis ts is reflected by the high proport ion of foreign b o m personnel in the highly skilled workforce in the USA. The total 1705 skilled workers that emigrated from Sri Lanka during 1971-1974 constituted 18% of the technical and professional personnel in the country at that t ime when the average for highly skilled migrat ion for Asia was est imated to be around 5 % . 6 0 % of the Sri Lankan expatriates engaged in R & D abroad today have PhDs while only 2 3 % of R & D Scientists in Sri Lanka possess a PhD. In our efforts to progress to a knowledge e c o n o m y the demand for highly skilled workforce will escalate. This necessi tates training, attracting and retaining personnel for highly skilled j o b s , creation of more j o b s for h ighly skilled personnel in the state and private sectors and compet ing for highly skilled individuals in the global market with compet i t ive salaries and conducive work ing and living environments . The declining trend in the number National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 . Maitland Place, Colombo 07 3 1 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 of R & D personnel in Sri Lanka is a concern. If w e are to be at least, on par with the world average w e need approximately 18,000 research personnel (i.e 4 t imes the present number o f 4000) to be engaged in research today. Mobil i ty of highly skilled personnel is an increasing phenomenon with globalization, fueled by technological advancement . Brain Drain if neglected could result in a permanent and irreversible outflow of human capital. However , migration of highly skilled personnel can co-exist with cycles of emigrat ion and return o f national talent with enhanced skills as Brain Circulation, M a n y developing countr ies have used this for a win-win situation through appropriate policies, mechan i sms and schemes Sri Lanka has begun to engage the STI diaspora in a nation bui lding process, especial ly through building scientific and technological diaspora networks, introducing schemes to engage the diaspora in STI activities and encouraging high-tech entrepreneurship, This would also encourage collaborative research p rogrammes , assist in development o f a highly skilled workforce, bui lding STI capacities and enhancing knowledge and technology transfer systems in Sri Lanka. I hope this global forum will provide a sustainable platform for an effective brain circulation p r o g r a m m e in Sri Lanka. National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 32 Global Forum of Sri Lankan Scientists - 13-15 December 2011 Chairpersons, Panelists and Rapporteurs for Breakout-Sessions/Panel Discussions National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 33 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Food and Water Security Dr. S.S.B.D.G. Jayawardene Dr. Jaanaki ( ioonara tnc Dr. Shanthi Wilson Dr. Collin Chartres Prof. Vijaya Jayasena Prof. Harsha Ratnaweera Prof. K.B. Pal ipane Mr. B.R.L. Fernando J . S . 8 . D . G . Jayawardena, BSc Agriculture (Ceylon). MSc Agronomy (Kyoto) (1974-77), PhD Agronomy & Physiology, (Kyoto) (1980- 82), is the Chairman of the Tea Research Board and a member of the Governing Boards of Sri Lanka Tea Board. Tea Small Holdings Development authority. Tea Shakthi. In addition, he is a member of the National Salaries & Cadre Commission of the Government, the National Science Foundation National Committee and the Advisory Committee on Plantation Industry' appointed by the Honorable Minister of Plantation Indusiries. In August 2010 he was appointed as a Director to the Board of Directors of Kegalle PI r He joined Agricultural Research Centre as a Research Officer in 1968 and was promoted us the Deputy Director (Research) in 1997. Director General of Agriculture, Director, Tea Research Institute, Chairman. Coconut Research Institute. Advisor to the Honorable Minister of Plantation Industries. Advisor to the Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Chairman. National Institute of Plantation Management. Chairman, Tea Research Board in 2006. In addition to the above. Dr Jayawardena was the FAO Consultant to the Consultative Group in International Agriculture Research on Bio diversirv and U C \ Consultant to the Government of Ghana on Horticulture Sector Development He has over 33 years professional experience covering agricultural research and development activities, human resource development, development of foreign funded projects, direct involvement in food security and poverty, alleviation programs of the country. He has more than 100 co-authored publications. He has participated in more than 75 International Conferences related to agriculture, development, research management, food security, bio-diversity, environmental etc., in many countries in the world. Dr S.S.B.D.G. Jayawardena Chairman Tea Research Board Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka Talawakellc Telephone: 0512222601.05122225157 Email: chaimtan(atri.ac.lk National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 34 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 • J a a n a k i G o o n e r a t n e P h i ) , Sen io r Deputy Di rector , leads the F o o d techno logy Sec t ion o f the Industr ial T e c h n o l o g y institute. S h e has 32 years o f research exper ience and has made s ign i f i can t contr ibut ions in Ihe f ield o f food, nutrit ion and process ing . Her areas o f spec ia l interest are on fruits, vegetab les and coconu t and have made many nutr i t ional formulat ions for industry. Her innovat ive work on the formulat ion o f a natural l ime fruit based isotonic dr ink won a Nat iona l A w a r d in 2010 for the best local techno logy introduced to the industry. S h e also has a number o f pub l icat ions in the field o f nutrit ion and serves on many nat ional level commit tees. Senior Deputy Director (Food Technology Section) Industrial Technology Institute No. 363. Bauddhaloka Mw. Colombo07 Telephone : +94-11-2379800 Fax :+94-11-2379X50 iaanakifa iti.lk Shanthi W i l s o n B S c M i c r o b i o l o g y (Un i ve rs i t y o f L o n d o n ) , P h D in Plant P a i h o l u g y and Post Harves t B i o l o g y . ( C a m b r i d g e ) , j o i n e d the C I S I R (present 1T I ) in September 1983 and in 1992 was instrumental in estab l ish ing the first post harvest laboratory for per ishable commod i t ies in Sr i L a n k a . D r W i l s o n ' s research is based on industry needs i nc lud ing post harvest loss assessment studies, development o f matur i ty ind ices , and the protocols for export o f fresh produce. Her team ident i f ied the cause and deve loped remedial measures lor low temperature induced internal b rown ing in p ineapples. Her current research interests focus on b io log ica l methods for m i n i m i z i n g loss and inc lude the appl icat ion o f new tools emerg ing in the areas o f mo lecu lar b io logy and nano- technology. Dr. Shanthi Wilson Additional Director Research & Development Industrial Technology Institute Colombo Sri Ianka National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 35 Global F o r u m of Sri L a n k a n Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 ... U Violin Chartres has a P h D on soi l development f rom the Un ivers i t y o f R e a d i n g ( U K ) . H e is current ly the Director Genera l o f the Internat ional Water Management Institute ( 1 W M I ) . I W M F s v is ion is Water for a Food Secure World and i nvo lves s o l v i n g water scarc i ty v i a increas ing water product iv i ty , reduc ing poverty and susta inable natural resource management . H e has p layed a leading role in alert ing the wor ld to an emerg ing water c r i s i s that w i l l impact a l l water users and food securi ty in many deve lop ing countr ies. Pr ior to j o i n i n g I W M I in 2 0 0 7 , he was C h i e f S c i e n c e A d v i s o r to Aus t r a l i a ' s Nat iona l Water C o m m i s s i o n . There , h is role inc luded deve lop ing a nat ional water in format ion sys tem, creat ing a nat ional groundwater act ion p lan and us ing sc ient i f ic ev idence to in form water po l i cy opt ions. P rev ious l y he held senior research and research management posi t ions wi th C S I R O . the Bureau o f Rura l Sc ience and Geosc ience Aus t ra l i a and has a l so w o r k e d in academia a n d the pr ivate sector. H e has pub l i shed over 100 jou rna l ar t ic les, technical papers and book chapters on natural resources management and is the senior co-author o f the recent ly the book " O u t o f Water . " pub l ished in 2010 . Dr. Col l in Chartres Director General International Water Management Institute ( IWMI) 127 Sunil Mawatha Pelawatte. Battaramulla Sri Lanka Te l : 94-11-2KK000O; Fax: 94-11-2786854 E-m: c.chartresCacgiar.orK Website: www.iwmi.ore H arsha Ratnaweera is a Pro fessor in Env i ronmenta l Eng inee r i ng at the Un ivers i t y o f L i f e S c i e n c e s , No rway . H e pioneered the N o r w e g i a n Institute for Wate r R e s e a r c h ( N I V A ) ' s innovat ion act iv i t ies and commerc ia l i za t ion o f R & D wh i l e a l so se rv ing as the Di rec tor o f International Projects dur ing h is 20 years carr ier there. H e has a P h D from the N o r w e g i a n Un ive rs i t y o f S c i e n c e and T e c h n o l o g y ( 1 9 9 2 ) and spec ia l i zes in water resources management and water & wastewater eng ineer ing. H e has worked in many countr ies and init iated 4 col laborat ion projects in S r i L a n k a w i th No rweg ian funds. H e is a member o f the N o r w e g i a n Nat iona l C o m m i s s i o n for U N E S C O and headed it's Natural S c i e n c e Commi t tee . Prof. 1 Iarsha Ratnaweera Dept. of Mathematical Sciences and Technology, Norwegian University of Li fe Sciences, PO Box 1432, Aas, Norway. Tel : +47 9822 7777 F-mail : harsha.ratnaweerafaumb.no; www.umb.no National Science Foundation. 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 http://www.iwmi.ore http://harsha.ratnaweerafaumb.no http://www.umb.no Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 V i i jay J a y a s e n a obtained his PhD at Kansas University in the USA and currently employed at Curtin University in Australia. Main research focus is the development of novel healthy foods to address major global food related issues of hunger and malnutrition as well as obesity, diabetes cardiovascular diseases with special focus on food security. Most of the projects are conducted in collaborations with academic/research organizations in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Malaysia and the USA. More than Aus S2 million worth projects have been conducted during the last 5 years. He holds 2 international patents. Some of the research findings have been commercialized. Professor Vi jay Jayasena Professor of Food Science & Technology School of Public Health, Faculty o f Health Sciences, Curtin University, G P O B O X U 1987, Perth, Australia Te l : +61 8 9266 7530: Fax: +61 8 9266 2958 Email | v.iavasenafclcurtin.edu.au Web | http://publichealth.curtin.edu.au/about/staff_profile.cfm?lD=447 K y , B. P a l i p a n e BSc Agriculture (Ceylon), MAppSc Food Technology (Australia), PhD (New South Wales), MAIFST. Professor K.B. Palipane is currently working as Professor of Food Science and Technology in Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. His areas of expertise are: Crop Post-harvest Technology and FoodVAgro Processing. Prior to joining the University system, he worked as Director of the Institute of Post Harvest Technology (Ministry of Agriculture) Sri Lanka for over 20 years. He has over 40 research publications in widely acclaimed International and National Journals. In recognition of his contribution to research, he received the Presidential Award for Research in 2010. Prof. K . B . Palipane Department o f Food Science and Technology Faculty of Applied Sciences Sabaragamuwa University P.O. Box 02 Belihuloya Sri Lanka National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 37 http://publichealth.curtin.edu.au/about/sta Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Green Energy Technologies Prof. Lakshman Dissanayake Prof. Oliver Il leperuma Prof. W . Sumathipala Prof. LM. Dharmadasa Mr. B i m m y Dhanapala Dr. Lareef Zubair Prof. S.B. Tennakoon Prof. S. Kulasooriya Mr. Parakrama Jayasinghe Mr. Manjula Perera Dr. Thusi tha Sugathapala • 1VJL.A.K. Lakshman Dissanayake B S c ( H o n o u r s ) Peraden iya . M S , P h D in Exper imen ta l S o l i d State P h y s i c s . Ind iana Un ive rs i t y , B l o o m i n g t o n , Ind iana, U . S . A . is current ly the Research Professor , Institute o f Fundamenta l S tud ies , K a n d y and Professoi Emer i tus , 1 Department o f P h y s i c s , U n i v e r s i t y . o f Peraden iya . H e was H e a d , Department o f P h y s i c s , Un ivers i t y o f Peraden iya , f rom 1989 - 1992 & 2 0 0 0 - 2 0 0 1 , and Sen io r Professor in P h y s i c s . Un ivers i t y o f Peraden iya unt i l he retired in September 2010 . H e was a lso the Di rector . Postgraduate Institute o f S c i e n c e (PGIS), Un ivers i ty o f Peraden iya , S r i L a n k a (21)03-2008) , C h a i r m a n , A s i a n P h y s i c s Educa t ion Ne two rk ( A S P E N ) ( 2 0 0 3 - 2 0 0 7 ) , Member , B o a r d o f Management , Nat ional S c i e n c e Foundat ion , S r i L a n k a ( 2 0 0 5 - 2 0 0 8 ) and Assoc ia te Member o f the Internat ional C o m m i s s i o n on P h y s i c s Educa t ion ( I C P E ) o f 1 U P A P . H e has over 150 research publ icat ions out o f w h i c h 75 are in international indexed jou rna ls and has a lso been the recipient o f many awards (e .g . C V C D A w a r d for the Most Outs tand ing Researcher , P h y s i c a l S c i e n c e s , Sen io r Researcher C a t e g o r y - 2 0 1 0 by H . E . the President in December 2 0 1 0 , Sr i L a n k a Nat iona l A w a r d "Vidya Nidhi" b y H e r E x c e l l e n c y the President o f S r i L a n k a in October 2005 in recogni t ion o f the sc ient i f ic ach ievements and contr ibut ion to nat ional development in the area o f sc ience , sc ient i f ic research and sc ience educat ion . Mer i t A w a r d for Sc ien t i f i c Resea rch awarded by the Nat iona l S c i e n c e Foundat ion , S r i L a n k a for the Project " S t u d y o f S o l i d E lect ro ly tes and Ca thode Mater ia ls for S o l i d State E lec t rochemica l C e l l s " in December 1993) . Prof. Lakshman Dissanayake Research Professor Institute o f Fundamenta l S tud ies K a n d y National Science Foundation, 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 07 3 8 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 13 -15 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 Ananda kulasooriya, B S c , PhD (London), F A N S ( S L ) is an hmen tus Professor o f Bo tany , current ly wo rk i ng as a V i s i t i n g Research Pro lessor at the Institute o f Fundamenta l S tud ies . K a n d y . S r i L a n k a , D u r i n g h is 4 0 year career at the Un ivers i ty of Peraden iya . he held posi t ions o f Head o f Department o f Bo tany ( 4 t imes) and D e a n , f a c u l t y o l S c i e n c e . H i s research areas are: i ) b io log ica l ni trogen f ixat ion and biofer t i l izers; tox in p roduc ing cyanobacter ia ; and b iofuels f rom Jat ropha. ce l l u los i c b iomass and cyanobacter ia . Prof. S . Ananda Kulasoori>.i Visiting Research ho lcsso i InsUtute o f Fundamental Studies, Hautane Road, Kand) Te l . 0 8 1 - 2 2 3 2 0 0 2 Residence: 4 5 / 6 , University Square Dangolla. Kandy, Sri I jnkd. Tel . 0 8 1 - 2 3 8 9 9 4 6 . 0 7 7 - 6 0 0 4 9 4 0 Paiakrama Jayasinghe is the Current President o f the B i o I .ne igv Assoc ia t ion o f S r i L a n k a . H e is a Char tered Mechan ica l Eng ineer . H e graduated form the Univers i ty o f Peraden iya in 1 9 6 7 with B S c H o n s degree and has a Post Graduate Qua l i f i ca t ion f rom the R o y a l Me lbourne Institute o f T e c h n o l o g y on Ref r igerat ion E n g i n e e r i n g H e is a Fe l low o f the Insti tut ion o f Eng inee rs S r i L a n k a and a member o f the Insti tut ion o f Mechan ica l Eng inee rs L o n d o n H i s four decades o f post-graduat ion career span inc ludes employment in both pub l ic sector and private sector in S r i L a n k a as we l l as two per iods o f foreign employment in N ige r i a and Indones ia . H e retired as the Director Eng inee r i ng at l l a y c a r b G r o u p T w o years a g o and is currently is a member o f the B o a r d o f D i rec tors o f the Susta inab le Ene rgy Author i ty and the Na t iona l Eng ineer ing Research and D e s i g n Cent re . H e i s a lso the M a n a g i n g Di rec tor o f the Geo tech G r o u p o f C o m p a n i e s . Deve lopment o f the B i o Ene rgy Sec to r i n S r i L a n k a has been his pr ime interest in the past f ive years. National Science Foundation. 4 7 / 5 , Maitland Place, Colombo 0 7 3 9 Global F o r u m of Sri Lankan Sc ien t i s t s - 1 3 - 1 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 O. ' l i v e r A . I l e p c r u m a . B S c ( C e y l o n ) P h D ( A r i z o n a ) is Pro fessor