Prof Kusuma Karunaratne

Prof. Kusuma Karunaratne - Abhinandana
Professor Kusuma Karunaratne (born November 21, 1940.) was former Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and is currently a senior lecturer at the Department of Sinhala at the same university. She is renowned for her work in Sinhalese studies, and the strengthening of Japan-Sri Lanka relations.
Prof. Karunaratne, who hails from small village called Dodampahala, Dickwella in the city of Matara, Southern Sri Lanka was born as Kusuma Ediriweera Jayasooriya to a business family of Mr. and Mrs. D.E. Jayasooriya. She had her early education at the Dodampahala Vidyalaya and later she went to Dickwella, Vijitha Vidyalaya for secondary studies.

From this school, she passed her Advanced Level examinations to qualify for admission to the University of Peradeniya, Kandy for higher studies in 1960. Her outstanding talent continued, as she became the first female to graduate with a First class honours degree from the University of Peradeniya in 1964.

Karunaratne's brilliance was rewarded, when she became the first female to get a permanent appointment in the staff at the university. Later on, she went on to achieve many more firsts in her field, such as being the first female Professor of Sinhala and the first female Dean in Sri Lanka.

Her academic career reached a landmark, when she was given the opportunity to travel to the UK for her Post-Graduate studies. At Essex University, she studied the Sociology of Literature. She also did some research for her PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Prof. Karunaratne married another distinguished intellectual, Prof. Sam Karunaratne, Lecturer of Engineering and once Dean and Vice Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa in July 1967. He was one of the leading figures in founding the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT).
They have two sons, Savant Kaushalya and Passant Vathsalya, both electrical engineers specializing in Image processing. The elder, Savant Karunaratne has a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Sydney University, Australia. The younger, Passant Karunaratne is a Principal Research Engineer in USA.

She was recently awarded the Fellowship of the Japan Foundation and later the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, a prestige similar to being Knighted.

In her attempt to strengthen the relations between Japan and Sri Lanka, she has taught Sinhala to many Japanese students. Some of those students are professors and diplomats.

Among her many achievements is the numerous translations of English and Japanese novels to Sinhala, as well as a book on Sinhala literature based on her lectures translated to Japanese.

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[sumithmagage]

Thanks a lots

[sumithmagage]

Thanks for your all comment

[cadermd]

Budu Saranai. Nim Him Sewwa Ma Me loke.

Well done...nice.

[canniedy]

am a child grade 1 student here in the philippines. my father is surname is karunaratne to. he was born in sri lanka also