Titled ‘Seekers and Builders of Our World: Inspiring Stories of 25 Scientists’, the 350-page book highlights the vital role of socially engaged scientists – those who unraveled mysteries of matter and life, tackled global problems like famine and disease, and shaped our modern world in different ways.
The book will be launched at the opening ceremony of SLAAS Annual Sessions at BMICH Colombo on 1 December 2014.
At the invitation of SLAAS, the book was authored by the award-winning science writer Nalaka Gunawardene. It was designed and illustrated by artist and cartoonist Dharshana Karunathilake.
“Publication of this book hopes to ignite an interest in young minds and engage the next generation of scientists early so that they can be a part of the knowledge base that we badly need to nurture in our country,” says Dr A M Mubarak, General President of SLAAS for 2014, in his foreword to the book.
Among those profiled in the book are biologists, chemists, engineers, mathematicians, physicists and information technology pioneers. Some of them made pioneering discoveries – such as antibiotics, radioactivity and relativity – while others were responsible for pushing the limits of knowledge, design and technology.
Particular focus has been given to childhood influences that inspired them to pursue scientific careers, as well as life challenges – including poverty, societal discrimination or disability — they overcame with hard work, resolve and imagination.
The 25 personalities (in alphabetical order) are: Norman Borlaug; Rachel Carson; Arthur C Clarke; Gamani Corea; Jacques-Yves Cousteau; Marie Curie; P E P Deraniyagala; Albert Einstein; Enrico Fermi; Steve Jobs; Robert Koch; A N S Kulasinghe; Wangari Maathai, Mario Molina; Linus Pauling; Qian Xuesen; C V Raman; Srinivasa Ramanujan; WilhelmRöntgen; Abdus Salam; David Suzuki; Selman A Waksman; Ray Wijewardene; Edward O Wilson; and D J Wimalasurendra.
These names were chosen to inspire not only recent science graduates but also students in GCE Ordinary Level and Advanced Level classes and to promote a culture of research and spirit of inquiry.
“Engage Science, Enrich Society” has been the SLAAS theme for 2014. It sought to showcase the contribution science has made to human progress over the centuries. Through life stories of local and international scientists, the book reminds us that science is not an esoteric pursuit but very much a part of everyday life.
SLAAS is the premier organisation of professional scientists in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1944 and incorporated by Act of Parliament No 11 of 1966, it is a non-governmental and non-profit making voluntary organisation, with a vision to transform Sri Lanka to a “scientifically advanced nation”.
The book is being sold at a subsidised price of Rs 500. Limited copies will be available for sale from SLAAS office, “Vidya Mandiraya”, 120/10, Wijerama Road, Colombo 7, from December 5 onwards.
Shukichi Koizumi speaks during Penang workshop in March 2014, flanked by his colleagues Juka Kawaai (to his right) and Kenichi Mizuno – Photo by Mariyam Niuma
Shukichi Koizumi, a leading Japanese documentary filmmaker and television professional, is no more. When he passed away in Nagano, Japan, on 12 November 2014, aged 81, he had been making films was more than half a century.
Koizumi was the founder and, until 2010, President and CEO of Group Gendai Films, a documentary and television programme production company in Tokyo. He also served as honorary chairman of the non-profit media organisation TVE Japan, and was a partner and ardent supporter of filmmakers, activists and educators across developing Asia.
Koizumi will be best remembered as a maker of long format documentaries on public interest scientific and environmental topics. He had a special interest in how synthetic chemicals – such as pesticides – and nuclear radiation affected both human health and nature. For years, he also visually chronicled Japan’s struggles to balance economic growth with caring for its public health and the environment.
I first met Koizumi-san in the early 1990s, when I served as a juror at EarthVision, the Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival. In the two decades since, we collaborated on various Asian film productions and video skills training workshops.
Every time we met, I found him productive and creative – he seemed to have a never-ending supply of energy and enthusiasm. At any given time, he had several ideas for new films on nationally or globally important issues.
On his own or through Group Gendai Films, Koizumi produced a large number of broadcaster-commissioned and corporate promotional films. They kept the business going, but the ones that stand out are those he took up as personal projects. They reflected his intellectual curiosity and social concerns.
And unlike many filmmakers who prefer to move from one production to the next, Koizumi knew the significance of effective film distribution and outreach. With his friend (and TVE Japan’s Executive Director) Kenichi Mizuno, he kept on raising money from Japanese philanthropic and governmental sources to support these endeavours in Asia. He never gave up despite hard times caused by Japan’s lost decades and the global economic recession.
A longer tribute is to be published soon.
Nalaka Gunawardene (left) and Shukichi Koizumi in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2010
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala), published on 23 November 2014, I ask whether astrologers are the most powerful persons in Sri Lanka. This is because all important decisions of the state, including the ceremonial opening of Parliament and scheduling of elections, is done strictly on astrological advice.
Speaking at a recent meeting of the Sri Lanka Rationalists’ Association to discuss my latest book, writer and political commentator Gamini Viyangoda said astrology determines so many personal and public decisions in Sri Lanka. In this obsession, ruling party and opposition party politicians seem united.
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala), published on 16 November 2014, I recount how a group of divers accidentally discovered a shipwreck while diving off the south-eastern coast of Sri Lanka close to the Great Basses Reef lighthouse. The discovery was made by Mike Wilson, who was variously talented as a diver, photographer, writer and filmmaker, who had settled down in Ceylon in 1956 at the same time as his collaborator Arthur C Clarke.
This story is fully documented in Clarke’s The Treasure of the Great Reef, and also summarised here by Dr Kavan Ratnatunga:
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala), published on 9 November 2014, I reflect on the recent landslide in Meeriyabedda, Koslanda, Sri Lanka on 29 October. The disaster wiped out an entire settlement of plantation workers whose houses were built on a hill already identified as prone to landslide hazards.
I discuss landslide hazard mapping being done for two decades by National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) and ask what failures in risk communication led to this preventable tragedy. I also quote NBRO scientists as saying how climate change and resulting increase in extreme rainfall events can trigger more landslides.
The Sunday Observer newspaper in Sri Lanka recently sought my views on the concept of ‘Science for All’, which comes into focus with World Science Day observed globally on November 10. I sent them an op-ed of 700 words, from which they have quoted extensively in a long feature published today: http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2014/11/09/spe05.asp
Here, for the record, is my full essay in original form:
We can take the citizen to Science but…? Cartoon by Awantha Artigala
The annual, global event was initiated in 2001 by UNESCO, the UN agency covering education, science and culture. It is an opportunity to remind ourselves why science is relevant to our daily lives.
World Science Day aims to ensure that everyone is kept informed of new developments in science, and the role scientists in society is understood and valued.
The notion of ‘Science for All’ is not confined to scientific subjects studied in school or university. Science is much more than textbooks, laboratories and experts.
Some among us are drawn to studying science and technology in depth and pursue careers in medicine, engineering or other specialized fields. Sri Lanka certainly needs such highly skilled persons to transform the economy and society.
Beyond this, however, every citizen needs a certain minimum knowledge and understanding of science and technology to lead productive and safe lives today. Without it, we can get easily confused, sidelined or exploited by various scams.
Consider a few recent headline-making developments.
Last month, an international health conference held in Colombo heard that no new malaria cases had been reported in Sri Lanka since October 2012. It suggests that we have probably eliminated the ancient disease from our island. Science based disease surveillance and control measures were responsible for this feat in public health.
The Koslanda landslide on 29 October destroyed an entire settlement, instantly burying many innocent people and making hundreds more homeless. That was a national tragedy, especially as the hazard was identified by scientists at the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) who had repeatedly warned the people at risk to relocate.
Alas, that did not happen for socio-economic reasons. A key lesson of Koslanda is that hazard information and warnings need timely and effective communication. To be effective, they need to be accompanied by viable alternatives to those at risk.
We often read media reports that can be scary. We hear about pesticide residues in our food, the rising number of road traffic accidents, and the danger of digital identity theft. Some basic scientific knowledge and technical skills become essential survival tools in the 21st century. Science cannot be left to scientists alone.
We can understand this with a sporting analogy. Our national passion of cricket is played professionally by a handful of men and women who make up the national teams and pools. But practically all 20 million Lankans know enough about cricket to follow and appreciate the game.
Similarly, we have a few thousand professionals practising or teaching science and technology for a living. The rest of society also needs to know at least the basic concepts — and limits — of science.
Science for All would be a ‘good idea’ for a nation obsessed with astrology! Cartoon by Awantha Artigala
For example, the scientific method involves questioning and investigating before accepting anything. A healthy dose of scepticism is very useful to safeguard ourselves from superstitions and increasingly sophisticated – but not always honest – product advertising.
The Coordinating Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI, website: http://costi.gov.lk), set up in 2013 under the Senior Minister of Science and Technology, has recently set up a National Coordinating Council on Science for All in Sri Lanka. Its mandate is to empower Lankans of all ages and walks of life with science knowledge to enable them to make informed decisions in everyday life.
The Council wants to play a catalytic role, inspiring media, education and professional institutions to promote science communication as an essential survival skill for modern times. It will collaborate with such message ‘multipliers’ who can help reach large numbers of people quickly. A national policy on science communication is to be drawn up to guide future activities.
American astronomer Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996) was at the forefront in promoting science for its sense of wonder and also for countering pseudoscience. As he used to say, “Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.”
[Award-winning science writer Nalaka Gunawardene counts over 25 years of national and international experience, and serves as co-chair of the recently established National Coordinating Council on Science for All in Sri Lanka.]
Twenty-five years ago, I interviewed the first national of Pakistan – as well as the first muslim — to win a Nobel Prize: theoretical physicist Dr Abdus Salam (1926 – 1996).
Salam was one of the most influential theoretical physicists of the 20th century. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 with two American physicists, Sheldon Lee Glashow and Steven Weinberg.
In last week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala), I profiled the accomplished South Asian who probed further from where Albert Einstein left off, and is called Einstein of the developing world. This week, I render into Sinhala segments of the two interviews I did with him – first in 1989 when he visited Sri Lanka, and again in 1990 when I visited him at the International Center for Theoretical Physics, ICTP.
Vidusara, Sri Lanka’s only science and technology weekly magazine, has interviewed me in their issue dated 5 November 2014, which marks their 27th anniversary. They talked to me about the role of science journalists and other science communications in promoting science and technology for national economic development.
Here’s my Q&A with the newspaper’s editor, Rajendra Kulasinghe:
Open Minds! (formerly: Moving Images blog) 