It is an honour for me to be bestowed with the prestige of serving as the President of the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon for 2025/2026.

Institute of Chemistry contributes towards the advancement of Chemical Sciences and it is the largest producer of qualified chemists in Sri Lanka. Considering the vision and mission of the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon and the prevailing economic crisis in the country, the theme “Journey towards economic sustainability in Sri Lanka – Role of Chemists” was selected for 2025/2026 with the vision of promoting chemistry based innovations and product development for local and foreign market using natural resources in the country, which are not currently being effectively used. In order to achieve this task, bridging the gap between academia and industry is essential. Institute of Chemistry will take the leadership in bridging this gap and open up avenues for chemistry-based journeys towards economic sustainability in Sri Lanka.  

My primary goal is to ensure maintenance of high standards of all the educational programs offered by the Institute of Chemistry in order to achieve the mission of the College of Chemical Sciences. To achieve this goal, necessary activities will be implemented. Modern facilities for teaching, learning and skill development activities will be available with the commencement of academic programs at Malabe campus in November /December -2025. A project will be initiated to establish a well-equipped Instrument center to facilitate research work of undergraduate and postgraduate students and academic staff of Institute of Chemistry. Necessary steps will be implemented to obtain the approval for the Institutional review and for the program reviews of the BSc (Hons) in Chemical Science, proposed MLS degree program and Master of Science degree program in Analytical Chemistry and Quality Assurance.  Necessary steps will be initiated to introduce a new degree program.

In addition to the academic and professional commitments, the institute provides services to the community through dissemination of knowledge and skills in chemical science.  Aligning with this task, relevant programs in chemistry for secondary level chemistry teachers, professional development programs for chemists and awareness programs on chemistry-related issues for the general public will be conducted.

With the support of the council and the membership, I am confident that I will be able to achieve all the above goals towards uplifting of the status of the Institute of Chemistry.

Prof. H M K K Pathirana

BSc (University of Sri Lanka, Vidyodaya Campus), PhD (University of Aston in Bïrmingham, U.K.), C.Chem., F.I.Chem.C.
President, Institute of Chemistry Ceylon
Emeritus Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Ruhuna