Vidya Jyothi The Vidya Jyothi (; ) is a Sri Lankan Sri Lankan honours system, national honour awarded "''for outstanding scientific and technological achievements''". It is the highest national honour for science in Sri Lanka for outstanding contribution to the ...

E. O. Eustace Pereira (13 September 1907 – 1988) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

Academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. He was the

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

of the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...

, where he founded the Faculty of Engineering. He was known as the ''Father of modern engineering education in Sri Lanka''.

Early life and education

Pereira was born on 13 September 1907 to George Eustace Pereira, a

station master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a Train station, railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now lar ...

of the

Ceylon Government Railway The Sri Lanka Railway Department (more commonly known as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා දුම්රිය සේවය ''Śrī Laṃkā Dumriya Sēvaya''; Tamil: இலங்கை புகையிரத ...

. Pereira received his education at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

, where he excelled in both academics and sports. He won the De Soysa Science Prize, the Mohamed Ali Arithmetic Prize, Evams Prize for Mathematics (shared with Danton G. Obyesekere), and he won house colours for cricket. J.R. Jayawardene, the future

President of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

, and Ceylon cricketer N.S. Joseph were his classmates at Royal College. In 1928, he entered the

University College Colombo Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...

and graduated with a first class honours degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, gaining first place in the faculty of Science and winning the engineering scholarship. The scholarship enabled him to enter

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

, where he gained the distinction of being the only graduate to finish the 3 year degree in two years. His contemporaries at Cambridge included

Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan wikt:statesman, statesman who thrice served as Prime Minister of C ...

, the further

Prime Minister of Ceylon The prime minister of Sri Lanka, officially the prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's exec ...

. From the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, he graduated with first class honours in Mechanical Sciences Tripos in 1931.

Career

Pereira served in the Department of Public Works for 15 years before joining the teaching staff of the

in 1946. He was its first

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

and the founding Dean of the Engineering Faculty, University of Ceylon, at its inception in 1950. In 1969, he was appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon in

Peradeniya Peradeniya (; ) is a suburb of the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka with about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the A1 main road, a few kilometres west of Kandy city centre. Peradeniya's name is derived from ''pera'' (guava) and ''deniya'' (a plain ...

. He was chairman of the National Science Council and member of several other government boards and commissions, including the Official Languages Commission and the Loan Commission.

Honors

Prof. Pereira was honoured with the title

in 1986. He died in 1988.Keynote Address
/ref> The ''EOE Pereira Theatre'' of the Faculty of Engineering

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya (, ) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka, University Grants Commission. It is the largest university in Sri Lanka, which was origin ...

was named to honor him, and several awards are made each year in his name: the annual E.O.E. Pereira Memorial Prize is awarded for the Best Paper by the Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka; the annual E.O.E. Pereira Memorial Lecture; and the E.O.E. Pereira Gold Medal at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya.

Family

Prof. Pereira was married to Mavis Scharenguivel in 1939 and had three children:

Lorenz Lorenz is an originally German name derived from the Roman surname Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum". Given name People with the given name Lorenz include: * Prince Lorenz of Belgium (born 1955), member of the Belgian royal family by h ...

, Bryan and Alan. His grandfather, Edwin C. Pereira, was a member of the first class of students to graduate from the

Ceylon Medical College Ceylon Medical College was a public medical school in Ceylon. The college was established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School. The college was based in Colombo. The college was merged with Ceylon University College in 1942 to form the University ...

in 1872.

References

External links

The origin of the Burghers and from where they cameLiving in Retirement Prof.-E.O.E.-Pereira Scholar and Gentleman, by Dr. Brendon Gooneratne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, E. O. E. 1907 births 1988 deaths Academic staff of the University of Ceylon Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of the Ceylon University College Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Sri Lankan journalists Burgher people Sri Lankan civil servants People from Colombo People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan academics Sinhalese people Sri Lankan engineers Vice-chancellors of the University of Ceylon Vidya Jyothi