PROF E O E PEREIRA MEMORIAL LECTURE IESL

PROF. E. O. E. PEREIRA MEMORIAL LECTURE IESL September 13, 2006 by Chandana Wirasinghe Professor, University of Calgary Hon. Senior Professor, University of Moratuwa wirasing@ucalgary. ca 1

“EOE” MEMORIAL LECTURE • A GREAT HONOR TO BE INVITED • I THANK THE IESL FOR INVITING ME AND IN PARTICULAR, PROFESSOR LAKSHMAN RATNAYAKE, WHO INITIATED THE ORIGINAL INVITATION WHEN HE WAS PRESIDENT. I WAS UNABLE TO BE HERE ON SEPT 13 UNTIL THIS YEAR. • ALSO AN HONOR TO FOLLOW SUCH DISTINGUISHED PREVIOUS LECTURERS SUCH AS MY MENTOR PROF. A. THURAIRAJAH, & SENIOR COLLEAGUES PROF BL TENNEKOON, PROF MP RANAWEERA, & MY BATCHMATE DR. RANJITH GALAPPATHI AND MANY OTHERS • MY BATCH, THE “CLASS OF 68”, WAS, AND IS, A GREAT ONE, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. I AM PLEASED TO REPRESENT THEM TODAY. WE NEED TO HEAR FROM KUMAR GUNAWARDENE IN FUTURE. 2

“E. O. E. ” • CHIEF ENGINEER DESIGNS, PWD • FOUNDING DEAN, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON, 1950 (NOW THE UNIV. OF PERADENIYA) • VC, UNIVERSITY OF PERADENIYA, 1969 • RETIRED 1971, PASSED AWAY IN 1988 • ONE OF THE BEST ENGINEERS PRODUCED BY SRI LANKA IN THE LEAGUE OF KULASINGHE, WIMALASURENDRA ET AL • ONE OF SL’S GREATEST ACADEMICS • UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION 3

PERSONAL ANECDOTES RE “E. O. E. ” - 1 • I KNEW OF EOE EVEN AS A CHILD, BECAUSE MY FATHER, P. A. WIRASINGHE, GAVE SINHALA TUITION TO EOE’S TWO SONS AT OUR HOUSE • LORENZ WAS AT THE TIME WAS THE “SCHOOL BOY CRICKETER” AND I WAS ABOUT 12 Y OLD. HE WAS A GREAT HERO FOR ME. • HOWEVER, I FIRST MET “EOE” PERSONALLY AT A ANANDA-ROYAL CRICKET MATCH HELD A FEW YEARS LATER, WHEN MY FATHER INTRODUCED ME AS A ‘WANNABE” ENGINEER 4

PERSONAL ANECDOTES RE “E. O. E. ” - 2 • WHEN I INQUIRED ABOUT ADMISSION TO THE FAC”, HE SAID “STUDY YOUR CHEMISTRY”! “E- • AT PERADENIYA, I REMEMBER - MARCHING TO ASK EOE NOT TO “RESIGN” AS DEAN - WORKING IN THE “EOE” PADDY FIELD! - EOE “PUSHING” A STUDENT • DHAMITHA AND I HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF EOE AS HE WAS ONE OF THE SIGNATORIES AT OUR WEDDING IN 1971. 5

IMPACT ON MY LIFE • I LEFT PERADENIYA IN MARCH 1969 & WAS HIRED BY CM PERERA, DIRECTOR OF THE HIGHWAYS DEPT • CAREER PATH: HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORTATION/ FULLBRIGHT 1972/ BERKELEY 72 -76/ CALGARY 76 -to date/ DEANSHIP Jan 94 -June 06/ TWO Ph. D STUDENTS WHO ARE FULL PROF’s IN SL • FOUNDING DEAN OF THE SCHULICH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING 6

WHEN I THINK OF EOE WHAT COMES TO MIND ARE • • • LEADERSHIP FOCUS ENGINEERING MINDSET INTEGRITY DIGNITY KINDNESS TOUGH (“FOUGHT UP INSTEAD OF DOWN!”) IN CONTROL WITHOUT BEING “CONTROLLING” LOVED BY MOST STUDENTS 7

E-FAC • EOE’S MANDATE: PRODUCE SUPERB B. Sc. GRADAUTES FOR THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION (MOSTLY GOVERNMENT) • THE “EOE” FORMULA: ORIGINALLY HIRED SUPERB ENGINEERS (E. G. PROF PAUL) SUBSEQUENTLY, HIRED THE BEST GRADUATES AS STAFF SENT THEM TO SOME OF THE BEST BRITISH UNIVERSITIES FOR THEIR Ph. D IN SELECTED AREAS GAVE THEM THE BEST POSSIBLE FACILITIES GIVEN LIMITED RESOURCES GAVE THEM (ACADEMICS & STUDENTS) ACADEMIC FREEDOM • MANY OF US IN THIS ROOM ARE PRODUCTS OF THIS FORMULA • IT WAS A GOOD FORMULA FOR THAT ERA 8

ENGINEERING, ENGINEERING EDUCATION, AND LEADERSHIP • ENGINEERING – CONTINUING TRADITIONAL ROLE THE HARNESSING OF NATURAL, INFORMATION AND INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES FOR THE OPTIMAL BENEFIT OF CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF ALL SPECIES (ADAPTED AND MODIFIED FROM ICEL) 9

“ENGINEER” AS TRADITIONAL ENGINEER • NATURAL RESOURCES (E. G. BUILD A DAM FOR HYDRO POWER) • INFORMATION RESOURCES (E. G. USE CURRENT AND PAST TRAFFIC DATA, SOCIOECONOMIC DATA & STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TO ESTIMATE FUTURE TRAVEL) • INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES (E. G. SOLVE “NEW” PROBLEMS SUCH AS MITIGATION OF A FUTURE TSUNAMI IMPACT) 10

A DIFFERENT WORLD TODAY • WORLD ECONOMY • A CONNECTED WORLD • INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES ARE AS IF NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN NATURAL RESOURCES • WOMEN ARE EMPOWERED • OTHER PROFESSIONS HAVE MOVED FORWARD (E. G. COMMERCE, MEDICINE) • VERY FEW REAL AND MAJOR ISSSUES HAVE “PURE” ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS • BLURRING OF ENGINEER, TECHNOLOGIST, TECHNICIAN (“IT PEOPLE” ARE EVERYWHERE!) 11

THE NEW ENGINEER • • • TRADITIONAL ENGINEER COMMUNICATOR (LOCAL/INTERNATIONAL) MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM MEMBER LIFE LONG LEARNER RESEARCHER ENVIRONMENTALIST SOCIAL ACTIVIST CREATOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENTREPRENEUR • LEADER 12

ROLE OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION THE ROLE OF UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION IS TO PRODUCE A MAJORITY OF GRADUATES WITH SIGNIFICANT “LEADERSHIP” POTENTIAL 13

THE EDUCATORS & MENTORS • FAMILY • EDUCATION/SCHOOL SYSTEM • UNIVERSITY SYSTEM • INDUSTRY • PROFESSION 14

THE 21 ST CENTURY ENGINEER • • • TRADITIONAL ENGINEER COMMUNICATOR (LOCAL/INTERNATIONAL) MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM MEMBER LIFE LONG LEARNER RESEARCHER ENVIRONMENTALIST SOCIAL ACTIVIST CREATOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENTREPRENEUR • LEADER 15

COMMUNICATIONS/TEAMWORK • INTENSIVE EDUCATION IN LANGUAGE SKILLS (WRITTEN/SPOKEN) • REQUIRE COMMUNICATION IN COURSES (AS OPPOSED TO TEACHING COMMUNICATIONS) • USE TEXTBOOKS! • HAVE COURSES WHERE THE MAIN COURSE GRADE IS BASED ON MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAMWORK (IDEALLY WITH NON-ENG STUDENTS) • REQUIRE A C/T COMPONENT WITHIN “INDUSTRIAL TRAINING” 16

THE 21 ST CENTURY ENGINEER • • • TRADITIONAL ENGINEER COMMUNICATOR (LOCAL/INTERNATIONAL) MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM MEMBER LIFE LONG LEARNER RESEARCHER ENVIRONMENTALIST SOCIAL ACTIVIST CREATOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENTREPRENEUR • LEADER 17

LLL/RESEARCH • KEEPING UP WITH CHANGE CONTINUOUSLY THROUGH SELF-STUDY IS ESSENTIAL IN THE RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD OF ENGINEERING (LLL) • MUST BE ABLE TO “RESEARCH” A NEW TOPIC IN DETAIL AND TO USE THE INFORMATION • PREPARATION BEGINS IN SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY 18

THE 21 ST CENTURY ENGINEER • • • TRADITIONAL ENGINEER COMMUNICATOR (LOCAL/INTERNATIONAL) MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM MEMBER LIFE LONG LEARNER RESEARCHER ENVIRONMENTALIST SOCIAL ACTIVIST CREATOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENTREPRENEUR • LEADER 19

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY • CRITICIZED FOR IMPACTING THE ENVIRONMENT • ALSO CRITICIZED FOR NOT PROVIDING SUFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE/ UTILITIES/ SERVICES TO THE CURRENT GENERATION! • ONLY ENGINEERS CAN DO THE NECESSARY “CLEAN UP”, & LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT • ENGINEERS MUST LEAD TEAMS THAT OPTIMIZE AMONG SPECIES AND GENERATIONS, COSTS AND BENEFITS, OLD AND NEW TECHNOLOGY 20

SOCIAL ISSUES • CRITICIZED FOR NOT BUILDING ENOUGH ROADS, AND NOT MANAGING THE TRAFFIC WELL • IN COLOMBO, SOME OF THE WORST TRAFFIC IS DURING THE “SCHOOL RUSH HOUR” • THE ANSWER IS NOT TO BUILD MORE ROADS FOR THE SCHOOL TRAFFIC • WE NEED BETTER SCHOOLS IN THE SUBURBS AND NEARBY TOWNS! • WE MUST LEARN TO APPRECIATE THOUGHT PROCESSES OF THE NON-ENGINEERS 21

THE 21 ST CENTURY ENGINEER • • • TRADITIONAL ENGINEER COMMUNICATOR (LOCAL/INTERNATIONAL) MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM MEMBER LIFE LONG LEARNER RESEARCHER ENVIRONMENTALIST SOCIAL ACTIVIST CREATOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENTREPRENEUR • LEADER 22

I. P. /ENTREPRENEUR • LONG TERM PROSPERITY DEPENDS ON CREATING I. P. THAT CAN BE “SOLD” IN THE WORLD MARKET • COURSES WHERE STUDENTS MUST CREATE SOME NEW IDEAS FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES/PRODUCTS ARE IMPORTANT • WE MUST KNOW HOW TO CREATE AND RUN A “START UP” 23

ENGINEER AS LEADER • • • A HIGHLY “EDUCATED” ENGINEER APPRECIATOR OF OTHER VIEWPOINTS COMMUNICATOR TEAM BUILDER INITIATOR SOCIALLY / & ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE • ENTREPRENEUR 24

EDUCATING FOR LEADERSHIP • CHOOSE STUDENTS WITH GOOD LANGUAGE ABILITIES (“A” OR “O”!) • EMPHASISE “COMMUNICATION” WITHIN ALL COURSES • ENCOURAGE ACADEMICS TO WRITE TEXT BOOKS • REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT “MULTIDISCIPLINARY” TEAMWORK • ALLOW “REAL” NON-ENGINEERING COURSES, e. g. START-UP CREATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 25

EDUCATING FOR LEADERSHIP - 2 • REQUIRE COURSES WHERE STUDENTS MUST “INITIATE” PROJECTS • HIRE ACADEMICS WHO WILL LEAD CHANGE • CONSIDER FIVE YEAR JOINT PROGRAMS - B. Sc/BA {ENGINEERING/e. g. HISTORY} - B. Sc. /MBA - B. Sc. Double majors - B. Sc. /M. Sc. 26

EDUCATING FOR LEADERSHIP-3 • MOVE TO 12 MONTH “INTERNSHIPS” • ALLOW NON-ENGINEEERING BUSINESS & NGO INTERNSHIPS • DISCUSS THE ROLES OF THE 21 ST CENTURY ENGINEER WITH STUDENTS • THINK OF EDUCATING A MAJORITY OF STUDENTS TO BE LEADERS 27

CONCLUDING REMARKS • PERADENIYA & MORATUWA ARE EXCELLENT PROGRAMS • SOME OF THESE IDEAS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE • THE SOLUTIONS PROPOSED ARE NOT EASY TO IMPLEMENT • WE AS INDIVIDUAL ENGINEERS MUST CONTRIBUTE TO THE SOCIAL DEBATE • THE “EOE” LEGACY MUST EVOLVE • ALL IS IMPERMANENT AND CHANGE IS GOOD! 28