Team Single

Prof. Rosa has been a very dynamic character in the Educational Industry and his considered as an excellent Physics Lecturer and an educator. Professor obtained his B.Sc. In Physics (Special-First Class), University of Colombo in 1979, M. Sc. In Physics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA in 1982 and his Ph.D.in Nuclear Physics; University of Pittsburgh in 1987.

His keen interest towards understanding nuclear structure and in particular the workings of the ‘weak force’, one of the fundamental forces in nature, Rosa found refuge in the University of Pittsburgh, USA alongside his dear compatriot NASA associate Sarath Gunapala to pursue his research interests. He completed his masters in science in record time in 1982 and continued his doctoral research on ‘weak branches of radio-isotopes’ gaining invaluable experimental expertise in gamma ray spectroscopy. Soon after graduation, Rosa returned home in 1987, especially during a time when the country was in turmoil and many intellects were inclined to migrate seeking greener pastures.

Prof. Rosa has been lecturing since the year of 1980 to present, which marks nearly 41 years of academic lecturing. Currently he is serving as a member of the modeling group of University of Colombo, School of Computing which has won several national and international awards for their excellent research activities. He has an unparalleled capability of connecting Physics principles with events happening in day to day life and therefore students love to attend his seminars and talks.

Few of the accolades won by the group are as follows: Nominated for the World Summit Award (WSA 2011), It is a global activity to select and promote the world’s best e-Content and most innovative ICT applications, 2010: Merit- 10th International Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards 2010 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,2010, Gold Award at the National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA) 2010 organized by the BCS Sri Lanka Section.

Prof. Rosa continued to inspire many young undergraduates with his wit and conceptual ease of presenting harder concepts of Physics. His lectures on Modern Physics for the first years’ were the most popular and probably carries the rare distinction of keeping every student lively and attentive for more than an hour at ease at lectures. His passion for teaching got him involved in educating teachers as well as students through various forums related to the National Institute of Education and Ministry of Education. Rosa has authored many books for the benefit of both A/L students and teachers and has since gathered much public attention and admiration. Rosa also showed keen interest in popularizing Physics in school students by actively promoting Physics Olympiads in Sri Lanka.

Prof. Rosa also went on to hold the position of Head of Physics from 2006 to 2015. Notably, it was during his tenure that a dedicated research wing for the Department of Physics was identified in the ground floor of the department. He even donated his personal funds to expedite the completion of work for the ground floor research wing. Rosa was a pioneer in establishing the masters degree in physics education in 2006 and his international research experience in Physics Education at Open University, Milton Keynes as a Common Wealth research associate during the early 2005 motivated this effort. Rosa is the current chairman of the atomic energy authority of Sri Lanka and has started a project in pioneered the installation of the very first cyclotron facility in Sri Lanka able to produce radio-isotopes on demand for medical use. Over the years, Rosa has supervised many graduate students under various fields of science and has been a popular visiting lecturer in many academic institutions.

Rosa always approached challenging problems light hearted and had a policy of people first. It was this attribute that made Rosa who he is and for sure made people around him cheerful, joyous and stress free.Professor Rosa has been awarded many affiliations, few of them are he was a Member of the setting panel in G.C.E.(Advanced Level) physics paper from 1989 to 2003 and 2005 to 2013, Controlling chief examiner for Physics in the years 1994, 1999, 2000, and 2020, President of Institute of Physics – Sri Lanka for the year 2004, 2005 and 2006, President of the University of Colombo Science teachers Association (2000 – 2009), Secretary of the Federation of University teachers Association (2006/07), ADB consultant on monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the new Physics curriculum for local G.C.E.(A/L) (from 1995-1996), Member/Consultant appointed by the Ministry of Education to prepare Physics syllabi for year 10 – 13 under new reforms (from 2005 to 2007), Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship tenable in UK – 2004 and many more. He has authored unique books which are very popular among Physics students and teachers. Initiation of all Physics related Olympiads competitions in Sri Lanka is his brainchild.