Eminent Biologist earns Doctor of Science (DSc) degree

Professor W.D. Ratnasooriya, Senior Professor and Chair in Zoology of the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo was conferred the degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Peradeniya at the convocation held on March 5, this year.

Professor Ratnasooriya had his primary and secondary education at Royal College, Colombo, graduated with Second Class Honours (Upper Division) in Zoology from the University of Ceylon in 1972, and obtained his PhD in 1978 from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK on a Commonwealth Scholarship. He joined the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo in 1973 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose to the position of Senior Professor within a short period.

His research interests are wide and varied ranging from Mammalian Reproductive Physiology to Biology of the Sri Lankan elephant, Ecology and biology of bats in Sri Lanka to Bioactivity of Sri Lankan medicinal plants used in traditional and ayurvedic medicine. More recently, Professor Ratnasooriya has embarked on the investigation of bioactivity and potential health benefits of Sri Lankan black tea. He has to his credit over 250 research articles published in both prestigious international and local journals, and over 150 published research communications.

In recognition of his outstanding achievements as a researcher and scientist, he has received many awards and accolades, including Presidential Research Awards, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Directors excellence award in Biology, the General Research Committee award of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science.

Professor Ratnasooriya was elected a Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, Sri Lanka and the Institute of Biology, Sri Lanka. Earning a DSc degree is a rare honour that only a handful of scholars have achieved in Sri Lanka.