Lokusatu Heva Sumanadasa, was a pilot, engineer, educator, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon and founder of the University of Moratuwa.

Education

Sumanadasa was born on 3 December 1910 in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) at

Ambalangoda Ambalangoda is a coastal town located in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Governed by Ambalangoda Urban Council, the town is famous for its ancient demon masks and devil dancers. Situated approximately south of Colombo, it sits o ...

. He was educated at

Dharmasoka College Dharmasoka College is a coed school in Sri Lanka. The college was established in 1913. It was supported by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, and accordingly is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. It provides ...

, Ambalangoda and

Ananda College ''Appamādo Amathapadan'' (Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada) , motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana , location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha , city = Colom ...

, Colombo at the time when

Patrick de Silva Kularatne Patrick de Silva Kularatne (31 March 1893 – 16 November 1976) (known as ''P de S Kularatne'') was a Sri Lankan (Sinhala Buddhist) educationist and politician. He was a Member of the State Council of Ceylon (1942-1947) and Member of Parl ...

was its principal. He completed his BSc degree in Physics at Ceylon University College and was awarded the Ceylon Government Scholarship to study aeronautical engineering at

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, London in 1932 Graduating BSc and DIC (postgraduate Diploma of Imperial College).

Aviation

He learnt to fly with the

London Aeroplane Club London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

at Hatfield with

Geoffrey de Havilland, Jr. Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland Jr., OBE (18 February 1910 – 27 September 1946) was a British test pilot. He was the son of Geoffrey de Havilland, the English aviation pioneer and aircraft designer. Early life Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland was b ...

as his instructor and made his first solo in and passed his A licence in 1934 (flying a DH.60G

Gipsy Moth The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Development The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane. ...

with a Gipsy II 120 hp engine) obtaining a private pilot's licence. He was a student member and later a full member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. After graduating (the first person from Sri Lanka to qualify in aeronautical engineering) he was hired by

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...

Ltd where he worked as a junior technical assistant and later as a senior technical assistant in the design office. When war broke out he volunteered his services to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and was a member of the RAF Volunteer reserve. However his technical and knowledge of aeronautical design at Handley Page made it impossible for him to be deployed on active service although his Ceylonese compatriots in the RAFVR,

Rohan Amerasekera Air Vice-Marshal Ekanayake Edward Rohan Ameresekere, (21 May 1916 – 20 March 1974) was a senior officer in the Royal Ceylon Air Force. He served as the third Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force. He previously served he had served as a ...

(later to command Sri Lankas Airforce),

Mickey Dias Reginald Walter Michael "Mickey" Dias Bandaranaike QC (3 March 1921 – 17 November 2009) was a barrister, academic and author of leading works on jurisprudence and the law of tort. He was the first Law Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, ...

( later First Law Fellow, Director of Studies and Professor of Jurisprudence at Magdalene College, Cambridge),

Rex de Silva Mervin Rex de Silva (1918-2005) was Ceylonese aviator. He served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force in World War II and later became the Chief Pilot of Air Ceylon. Early life Rex de Silva was born on 29 November 1918. His father was Joh ...

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

br>Ananda Kularatne
(son of Sumanadasa's school principal) and

(former cricket captain and head prefect of

S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

) saw active service. Sumanadasa, his wife and daughter returned to Sri Lanka in October 1942. His daughter later described the voyage through U Boat infested waters and storms during which all ships but theirs was lost.

Government Service

Despite his skills and experience in aeronautical engineering the government of Ceylon deployed him to work in a senior role for the Ceylon Plywood Corporation in Gintota and later as government engineer for the southern coastal city of Galle.

Education and University

Sumanadasa worked from 1958 with the Ministry of Education to establish the Institute of Practical Technology at Katubedde, Moratuwa, which opened in 1960. Sumanadasa was founder principal and was later Head of Civil Engineering at the Ceylon Technical College (CTC). In 1966 Sumanadasa became the founder director of the Ceylon College of Technology (CCT) which in 1972 became the University of Sri Lanka, Katubedde Campus with Sumanadasa as its first president. Sumanadasa was appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Sri Lanka and retired in 1975. The Katubedda campus was awarded independent university status as the

University of Moratuwa (''Vidyaayev Sharvadhanam'') , motto_lang = Sanskrit , mottoeng = Wisdom is all Wealth , established = , type = Public , chancellor = K. K. Y. W. Perera , vice_chancellor = N. ...

in 1978.

Honours and awards

The Sumanadasa building, named in his honour and built in 1973, remains in use and is one of the largest on the

site. The University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumanadasa L. H. Sri Lankan aviators Alumni of Ananda College 1910 births 1986 deaths Sinhalese engineers Sinhalese educators