CUFSAA Commemorates Professor Valentine Joseph – Announcement

Professor Valentine Joseph (1929-2017)

One of the finest professors of the history of the Faculty of Science, Professor Valentine Joseph passed away on March 2017. As a Mathematics Professor, Professor Joseph served the faculty for 42 years inspiring generations of students, and some of you attending Tamasha 2018 certainly belong to that exclusive group.

Professor Joseph started teaching at the University of Colombo in 1952, and up to his retirement in 1994, he taught Special Relativity and Classical Mechanics to Physical Science Students. But it was not just the content that made him such a special teacher. Every time he stood in front of his class, he took his students on a journey filled with magic and awe to a universe to which they have never been exposed to before. In this universe, the usually static equations became alive and filled with flux. His exposition of relativity reached minds beyond Einstein. He brought in many philosophers to his lessons and exposed his students to many diverse and wonderous viewpoints of the universe. Professor Joseph was a truly a Sri Lankan Scientist. He did not reproduce lessons out of a textbook but brought in our culture, music, religious practices and intertwined them to provide a wholesome and pure worldview to his students. He was also an unassuming human being with a gentle and sweet nature which made his students adore him.

Those who are reading this and who had been to his classes would fondly recall these memories and gratefully acknowledge his contribution to creating the success, both as scientists and human beings we enjoy today!

CUFSAA Commemorates
CUFSAA, in gratitude, would like to pay tribute to this magnificent teacher and human being. We are currently engaged in three activities towards this objective.

  • CUFSAA has now submitted a proposal to the Faculty to create a “Professor Valentine Joseph Memorial Scholarship awarded by the Colombo University Faculty of Science Alumni Association of North America (CUFSAA)” (Formal proposal obtained initial approval from the faculty and now going through the formal process at the University of Colombo . Fundraising starts now !)
  • CUFSAA is in the process of rewriting 71 articles written by Professor Joseph into a “Collected Works” volume (progressing halfway, expected to finish this year).
  • CUFSAA is planning to create, and sponsor the “Professor Valentine Joseph Memorial lecture” at the Faculty (Expected to start in 2019).

The scholarship we are proposing is a premium scholarship aimed at paying around Rs. 10,000 towards a student taking both academic achievement and economic needs into consideration. We need to raise at least $10,000 towards an endowment to achieve this.

Today, at Tamasha, the fundraising will formally begin.

Please help us raise fund through one of the following mechanisms.

How you can contribute

  1. We encourage you to visit www.cufsaa.org/VJ and pay through the Paypal button. You can make your donations to Professor Valentine Joseph Memorial Scholarship Fund via Paypal. Click on the following button


  2. We also have a credit card swipe machine with us today with Vicum.
  3. You may deposit cash in to the box at the registration desk.
  4. You may also fill in a pledge form available at the registration desk.
  5. You can also send your donation checks payable to CUFSAA with your contact information and email address. Please indicate that your donation is for the Professor Valentine Joseph Memorial Scholarship Fund on the memo line of the check. Please email and let us know about your pledge at info@cufsaa.org as well.
  • Colombo University Faculty of Science Alumni Association
    c/o Dr. Saliya De Silva
    393 Valley Road
    River Edge NJ 07661
    USA.

    For more information contact us via info@cufsaa.org.

    The Scholarship Proposal Details (Subject to change )
    We reproduce below, part of the scholarship proposal to the benefit of our membership

    • Recipient The Award is to be offered yearly to a fourth-year student pursuing a special Degree offered by the Department of Mathematics, University of Colombo.
    • Award Criteria
      • Criteria 1: The recipient needs to be a fourth-year student who is following a Special Degree offered by the Department of Mathematics, University of Colombo.
      • Criteria 2: The recipient must have maintained a predetermined GPA in the first, second and third years of study.
      • Criteria 3: Of those satisfying Criteria 1, and 2, the recipient will be the student among the applicants who possess the greatest economic need.
      • Criteria 4: The Recipient should not receive certain other awards given by either the Mathematics Department of the University of Colombo or the Faculty of Science of the University of Colombo (List of awards excluded to be provided later) at the time of the Award.

    A student who satisfies all four criteria described above will receive the annual Professor Valentine Joseph Memorial Scholarship.

    • Application Process Students who are about to or have already completed their 3rd year of study need to apply to Dean/Science, using established procedures to qualify for the scholarship.

    CUFSAA appeals to its membership and well-wishers to help us achieve our task.