Professor Sivalingam Sivananthan ( ta, சிவலிங்கம் சிவானந்தன்) is an American academic, scientist, businessman and Director of the Microphysics Laboratory at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...

Early life and family

Siva Sivananthan at Jaffna Hindu College

Sivananthan was born in Madduvil South near Chavakachcheri in northern

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. His father was a Tamil scholar from Valvettithurai and his mother was teacher of religion and science. He was educated at Saraswathi Maha Vidyalayam, Drieberg College and Jaffna Hindu College (1968–75). After school he joined the

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka ...

's Science Faculty in 1976, graduating in 1980 with a BS degree in physics.

Career

After graduating Sivananthan lectured at Eastern University, Sri Lanka before joining the

in 1982 for post-graduate study. He obtained

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

(1985) and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

(1988) degrees from the university. He is currently a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Microphysics Laboratory at the university's Department of Physics. Sivananthan entered business in 1998 when he founded EPIR Technologies Inc. Sivananthan is also founder and CEO of Sivananthan Laboratories Inc. based in Bolingbrook, Illinois. In May 2013 Sivananthan was awarded the "Champion of Change" (Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Innovators category) by the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. He was awarded the Vidya Nidhi title in the

2017 Sri Lankan national honours In March 2017 President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena awarded national honours to 90 individuals for distinguished services. It was the first time in twelve years that awards were given out and there were 426 applicants. The awards ceremony w ...

. In 2010 he was elected a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

for "seminal contributions to the growth technology of II-VI photovoltaic materials.". (search on year=2010 and institution=University of Illinois, Chicago)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sivananthan, Siva Academic staff of the Eastern University, Sri Lanka Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Alumni of the University of Peradeniya American people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Fellows of the American Physical Society Living people People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan academics Sri Lankan businesspeople Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan physicists Sri Lankan Tamil writers University of Illinois Chicago alumni University of Illinois Chicago faculty Vidya Nidhi Year of birth missing (living people)