Nationality Sri Lankan Known for Chemist, Academic | Title Professor Name J. O. | |
Board member of Institute of Chemistry Ceylon Education University of Colombo, S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Employer Open University of Sri Lanka, University of Colombo | ||
Jerence Nansel Oleap Fernando is a Sri Lankan Chemist, Scientist, Academic and Science Administrator serving as Vice Chancellor of the Open University.
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Education
Fernando was educated at Prince of Wales College Moratuwa and S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia where he was a college prefect and Faculty of Science, University of Colombo.
Academic life
Prof. Fernando joined as an assistant lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya and later the University of Ceylon, Colombo. After training in radio isotopes at the Australian School of Nuclear Technology, New South Wales, he joined Imperial College of Science and Technology, of the University of London as a Commonwealth Postgraduate Scholar in 1968 where he studied heats of adsorption of diatomic gases on tungsten using the calorimetric method and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of London in 1971. He returned to Sri Lanka as a lecturer in Physical Chemistry at the University of Colombo. He later spent a sabbatical at University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology to study surface chemistry by chromatographic determination of isosteric heats of adsorption on zeolites. In 1979 he became senior Professor of Chemistry of the Open University of Sri Lanka, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences from 1993 to 1999 and Vice Chancellor. Fernando was on the visiting staff at University of Jaffna (1979–1983), Ruhunu University College (1980), University of Papua New Guinea (1987), University of Colombo (1984–1998), University of Peradeniya (1990–1991), University of Sri Jayawardenepura 1975–1985, 1990–2013) and University of Kelaniya (1981–1993, 2001–2013). Fernando has served the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon as a council member and General Secretary from 1978 to 1981, Honorary Secretary for Educational Affairs 1981–1983, Chairman, Educational Committee, Chairman, Academic Board, Honorary Dean of the College of Chemical Sciences and Founder Coordinator of the Graduateship Course in Chemistry 1978–1983.,