Tag: Malima

Malima TV show on innovation wins Sumathi Tele Award

Sumathi Tele AwardsI’m delighted that Malima TV show on innovation, which I presented on Sri Lanka’s national TV Rupavahini for much of 2012, just won a Sumathi Tele Award — our equivalent of the Emmy Awards.

A Special Jury Award was presented to Malima at the 18th Sumathi Tele Awards festival held in Colombo on 30 October 2013.

The jury commended the studio-based show for both its content and presentation, noting our creative effort to link technology to everyday life in solving problems.

Exact jury citation (in Sinhala) read:

උතුර දකුණ මාරු නොකොට,

බුද්ධියෙන් ප‍්‍රඥාව කරා,

සතුටින් ගුණ නුවනින් යනුව ජීවිතය ගවේෂණය සඳහා

නව දිශානතියකින් කළ ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමක්.

සංකල්‍ය නිර්මාණයේ නිර්මාණශීලීතාව අගය කිරීමක්.

ජාතික රූපවාහිනීය නිෂ්පාදනය කළ,

නාලක ගුණවර්ධන ඉදිරිපත් කළ,

සුමින්ද තිලකසේන අධ්‍යක්‍ෂණය කළ

මාලිමා වැඩසටහනට පිරිනමනු ලබන සම්මානයයි මේ…..

The award was received by the show’s producer Mr Suminda Thilakasena and myself; it was presented by Ms Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Minister of Power & Energy, one of the guests of honour that evening.

Ms Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Minister of Power & Energy, presents Sumathi Tele Award to Suminda Thilakasena (left) and Nalaka Gunawardene on 30 Oct 2013
Ms Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Minister of Power & Energy, presents Sumathi Tele Award to Suminda Thilakasena (left) and Nalaka Gunawardene on 30 Oct 2013

Sumathi Awards have been organised by the privately owned Sumathi Group since 1995. It has established itself as the leading awards festival of the Lankan television industry that started in 1979.

Rupavahini broadcast of the evening (our award is presented around 16th minute):

Full awards list, as published in Lakbima daily newspaper, 1 November 2013:

Full list of award winners at 18th Sumathi Tele Awards, as published in Daily Lakbima, 1 Nov 2013
Full list of award winners at 18th Sumathi Tele Awards, as published in Daily Lakbima, 1 Nov 2013

Malima: Episode #6: Inventions to keep elephants at bay and to feed your fish…

Malima (New Directions in Innovation) is a Sinhala language TV series on science, technology and innovation, broadcast on Sri Lanka’s Rupavahini TV channel.

Produced by Suminda Thilakasena and hosted by science writer Nalaka Gunawardene, this episode was first broadcast on 22 March 2012. It features three stories:

• An interview with Dr Sarath Wimalasuriya, who has invented a low-cost, portable device that provided electrical pulse to a fence protecting crops from elephants. Called Shock Defender, this 5kg unit can support a fence 1.8km long, typically 50 acres (20.2 hectares). When fully charged, it can work for 48 hrs on battery. The medical doctor turned electronic inventor sells the device at one sixth the price of comparable imported ones.

• South Korean scientists say they have developed flexible memory technology that could support bendable computer platforms for e-books and cell phones.

• An interview with child inventor K K Irushika Teran Suriyakumara, student of St Benedict’s College, Colombo, who has come up with a simple automated device to remotely feed fish in a household fish tank. He has cleverly combined discarded material and a basic mobile phone. Find out how!

Malima: Episode 6 presented by Nalaka Gunawardene from Nalaka Gunawardene on Vimeo.

Malima: Episode #3 – From mopeds to flying machines, chasing dreams…

Malima (New Directions in Innovation) is a Sinhala language TV series on science, technology and innovation. This episode was produced and first broadcast by Sri Lanka’s Rupavahini TV channel on 9 February 2012.

Produced by Suminda Thilakasena and hosted by science writer Nalaka Gunawardene, it is a magazine style programme. This episode features:

• An interview with versatile Lankan inventor Niranjan Weerakoon, who has several patents and won many awards. We take a quick look at his motorised bicycle (moped) already on the roads, as well as his coconut plucking machine, research on generating electricity from sea waves, and Lakro – the energy efficient wood stove he has recently introduced to the local market.

• The Wright Brothers were indefatigable inventors. What lessons can today’s inventors learn from their pursuit of building and flying the first successful aircraft in 1903?

• The dance of the dung beetle has long amused insect watchers. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden say the beetles use their circular strut as a corrective navigation system when moving dung balls away from the pile. This could inspire the design of future robots. More at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120119101555.htm

• Interview with young inventor Pasindu Paveetha Ranawaka, age 8, a student of Vidyartha College, Kandy. He has invented a battery-operated electric pen that creates unusual lines and shapes. Can anyone become an artist with such a pen in hand? We experiment to find out.

Malima: Episode 3 presented by Nalaka Gunawardene from Nalaka Gunawardene on Vimeo.

Malima episode #2: New ideas – from robot arms to simplified traffic lights…

Malima (New Directions in Innovation) is a Sinhala language TV series on science, technology and innovation produced and first broadcast by Sri Lanka’s Rupavahini TV channel on 26 January 2012.

Produced by Suminda Thilakasena and hosted by science writer Nalaka Gunawardene, it is a half-hour show in magazine style.

Malima: Episode 2 presented by Nalaka Gunawardene from Nalaka Gunawardene on Vimeo.

This episode features:

• An interview with engineering student W Rakitha Brito who has invented several tools and robots for use in the aviation industry

• A glimpse of the ‘pehi pattalaya’, an ancient Lankan technology for extracting medicinal oil from various seeds

• Why doesn’t the woodpecker get headaches after a hard day’s work? Scientists who probed this have come up with new technology to prevent injury in accidents.

• Interview with young inventor Jayashanka Dushan, 17, a student of Bomiriya National School in Kaduwela, on his invention of simplified, low-cost and energy efficient traffic light using LEDs