NANO technology: SL lagging behind others

November 15, 2012, 10:13 pm , The Island

By Franklin R. Satyapalan

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank and President of Business Management School Dr. W. A. Wijewardena says successful Sri Lankan expatriates, in the fields of mathematics, chemistry and physics should be invited to return to the country to help re-build its human capital.

Elaborating on views he had expressed in a recent TV interview, Dr. Wijewardena told The Island in a brief interview yesterday that at present Sri Lanka did not have enough scientists and engineers to attend to its development needs. For, the Sri Lankan university system did not have any degrees in Bio-Medical Science to produce Bio–Medical Scientists.

 "The application of NANO technology is so widespread that it will encompass every aspect of human life in the future and those who have knowledge in NANO Technology are set to rule the world in the future," the retired Deputy Governor said.

He said that all students who wished to study Bio –Medical Science had to go overseas. But, on their return they did not have jobs. Therefore, they had to stay in other countries.

"Compared to world resources Sri Lanka does not have sufficient natural resources except for the human resource. There are only 20 million people. The major part of the Sri Lankan population is ageing and the population is expected to decline after 2030. It is high time mathematics, Physics and Chemistry were made compulsory for all students. Singapore could develop its economy as its focus had been on genetic engineering, NANO technology, Information and communication technology and entertainment."