History and purpose of National Institute of Fundamental Studies

By Kirthi Tennakone

The National Institute of Fundamental Studies commemorated its 40th anniversary of inception, in December 2021. It is an opportunity to recollect history, highlight achievements, assess performance and identify the constraints. The legislative enactment of the Institute, 40 years ago, was a sequel of sorts about the importance of indulging in fundamental research, a discourse in Sri Lankan academia that has its beginnings in the early 1950s.

As a result of representations made to the Government by several prominent dons of the University of Ceylon, the Minister of Scientific Research at the time, M.D.H. Jayawardena appointed a committee, in 1969, to examine a proposal for the establishment of a Physico-Mathematical Institute, or Institute of Theoretical Studies, in Sri Lanka, later named the Institute of Fundamental Studies.

What prompted the Government of Sri Lanka to undertake this venture?

After World War II, developing nations were awakened to the obvious outcomes of modern physics, which originated in Europe. The political and economic impact of scientific advancements, notably electronics and nuclear energy, greatly widened the gap between the East and West. Many come to the hasty conclusion that borrowing foreign technologies and installing them in their lands would remedy the situation. Fortunately, a few visionaries correctly identified the true cause of the East-West disparity as the neglect of fundamental studies by the former.

Fundamental studies involve investigating nature for the sake of curiosity and attempting explanations, correlations and generalisations, the pattern of argument which opens the path for formulating scientific theories capable of making predictions. The West acquired electronics and nuclear energy primarily because of fundamental research with a heavy component of theory and the technology that followed was secondary.

India and Sri Lanka were positioned well ahead of other Asian countries to embark on fundamental studies, because of the exposure to science, introduced by the British. Many who received physics and mathematics education in Britain, proven persons of eminence, returned to their home countries. Homi Bhabha, who associated with leading physicists in Britain and the United States, persuaded the Indian Government to establish the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Dr. A.W. Mailvaganam worked in Cambridge during the time of Ernest Rutherford, who discovered the atomic structure, and returned to Sri Lanka in 1939, to assume duties as the Professor of Physics, University of Ceylon. He initiated research in cosmic ray physics in Colombo and gained international acclaim. Jayaratnam Eliezer, a student of the quantum theory pioneer Paul M. Dirac, was appointed the Professor of Mathematics 1949. At Cambridge, he won the Isaac Newton Scholarship in Mathematics. Eliezer continued research at Colombo and was foremost among those who worked on the challenging problem of introducing quantum mechanics to the theory of electricity.

Inspired by the work carried out at the University of Ceylon, Colombo, many Sri Lankans opted to study advanced physics in foreign universities. Time was ripe to consider the establishment of a separate institute for the purpose. Discussions related to the idea surfaced around the mid-1950s when Eliezer returned from the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, United States, after a year long sabbatical. At Princeton Eliezer worked with Robert Oppenheimer. Unfortunately, the discussions were delayed, possibly because Eliezer tendered his resignation to accept a position at the University of Malaya.

The public opinion, about fundamental science, greatly influenced the Government of Sri Lanka to consider a proposal for the establishment of an Institute for Fundamental Studies. Testing of thermonuclear weapons and how the thermionic valve in the radio was replaced by the transistor to make it less bulky amazed people. The total solar eclipse on 20 June, 1955 stoked interest in advanced science. How would you predict the eclipse so precisely? Newspapers said that Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which is abstruse mathematics, will be tested at the time of the eclipse. People heard that the cause of inheritance was understood by adapting methods of physics into biology. I was an Eighth Grade student at the time. My father said, “You cannot comprehend nature without resorting to mathematics.” This was the scientific atmosphere in Sri Lanka in the mid-1950s.

Any discussion on the history of fundamental studies in Sri Lanka should not forget to mention those who highlighted the importance of modern science, distinguishing it from religion and traditional thinking. Kuruppumulage Jinendradasa was one of the first to talk about modern science in public forums. Abraham Kovoor explained the folly of superstition. E.W. Adikaram introduced modern science in Sinhala. Astronomer Allen Abraham Ambalavanar wrote articles on scientific topics in Tamil. Ven. Walpola Ruhula Thera argued that science and religion are two different things.

In India, Rabindranath Tagore, who vehemently attacked brutalities of colonial rule, also opposed the rise of blind nationalism, immediately after independence; pointing out that Western thinking and modern science cannot be ignored. Two Sri Lankans, Ven. Udakendawala Siri Saranankara Thera and Ven. Narawila Dhammaratana Thera (both involved in the Indian Freedom Movement and the former a student of Tagore) held similar views. These forgotten men influenced our society.

Prof. Senarath Paranavithana and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon, Sir Nicholas Attygalle, supported Prof. A.W. Mailvaganam in persuading the government of Sri Lanka, to establish an institution in Sri Lanka devoted to fundamental studies. Unfortunately, follow-up action was slow, possibly because the opening of the Peradeniya Science Faculty and two new universities (Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara) had been a priority.

In June, 1969, Minister of Scientific Research at the time, M.D.H. Jayawardena, appointed a 12 member committee, headed by Prof. Mailvaganam, to submit a proposal to establish an institution, devoted to advanced theoretical studies, in the fields of mathematics, statistics and physical sciences. The committee included professors of mathematics and physics from all the universities in Sri Lanka and Dr. V. Ramanathan of the Ministry served as the secretary. On request of the committee, Prof. P.C.B. Fernando of Vidyodaya University, Physics Department, visited Research Institutions in India to learn how they are managed. After a comprehensive study, a detailed report was presented to the Ministry, in 1970. The general consensus of the committee was that the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Madras is a good model to copy. Accordingly, an almost exactly parallel Act was drafted.

For reasons unknown to the writer, nothing happened until the late 1970s, when President J.R. Jayewardene, instructed UGC Chairman, Stanley Kalpage, to revive the establishment of the proposed institution. The writer accompanied Prof. P.C.B Fernando to two of these meetings. A question regarding the name of the proposed institute came up. Names suggested in the proposal were ‘Institute of Theoretical Studies’ and ‘Physico-Mathematical Institute’. The writer pointed out that ‘Institute of Fundamental Studies’ would be more apt in describing the purpose of the institute, which was accepted. I sometimes regret making this suggestion. The name ‘Institute of Fundamental Studies’ instead of ‘Theoretical Studies’ permitted the organisation to entertain themes far removed from fundamental studies, in its true spirit. The draft Act was revised and the new version presented to the Parliament included life sciences as one of the themes; modern biology, indeed, has a theoretical component.

In 1981 Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe was appointed the first Director of the Institute of Fundamental Studies. He served in this capacity until 1984 and the Institute conducted a conference on panspermia. In the inaugural speech President Jayewardene said, “The Institute would contribute to expanding of the man’s knowledge about himself and the universe around him.”

Later, President Jayewardene was disturbed by the slow progress of the Institute in meeting its objectives. Around late 1984, he requested Prof. Cyril Ponnamperuma to take up the position of Director. As an experimentalist, he was a bit apprehensive as the Institute is mandated to emphasise theoretical studies. The Board of Governors also reviewed activities and Prof. Mailvaganam kept on emphasising the necessity of pursuing the intended mandate. Being a visionary, Professor Ponnamperuma consulted two persons of eminence, Sir George Porter (Chemistry Nobel Laureate) and Abdus Salam (Physics Nobel Laureate), foreign fellows of the Institute. Both of them visited the IFS, the writer participated in the discussions, on invitation of the Director. They suggested that, at the beginning, the Institute may entertain few experimental projects to gain recognition, as theoretical studies are more challenging and take longer to mature. Prof. Ponnamperuma succeeded in this effort and stabilised the institution.

He highlighted the importance of research publications as a measure of performance.

Ponnamperuma introduced the art of conducting world class conferences. The Srinivasa Ramanujan Birth Centenary conference held at the IFS, in 1988, was an unforgettable event, attended by world renowned mathematicians. He founded the first endowed chair in Sri Lanka, funded by the entrepreneur P. Sumanasekara and obtained a JICA grant to equip laboratories. Ponnamperuma insisted that appointments in the IFS should be made on contractual basis, a proven mechanism for eliminating ‘dead wood’ and curtailing projects that turn out unsatisfactory.

Ponnamperuma wished for the Institute to engage in frontiers. When high temperature superconductivity was discovered, he encouraged research in this subject. Similarly when rumours were floating around that nuclear fusion could be achieved in a table-top experiment, he provided necessary material to test the hypothesis. Despite Ponnamperuma’s success in gaining recognition for the IFS, a number of projects far removed from the mandate were also entertained, diluting the intended theme of the Institute.

Unassuming humble persons who were dedicated to a noble cause, sometimes receive no credit, because they never resort to tactics of building an image. A person of this brand, who served the IFS, was Aries Kovoor. He held a professor ranking research position at CNRS Sorbonne, Paris. He was appointed as the Advisor on Scientific Affairs to the President, therefore a member of the Board of Governors of IFS. He constantly emphasised to the authorities that the IFS should confine itself to basic research and stressed the importance of provisions for the purpose. He succeeded in convincing the policymakers, at the time, that investment in fundamental studies, irrespective of immediate practical utility, is absolutely essential.

In 1996, the Board of Governors once again noted that the Institute had deviated from the theme of fundamental studies and instructed reorganisation of projects. The effort was only partly successful. Subsequently, the Institute moved further away from the theme of fundamental studies in the pretext of catering to projects of so-called national importance, which can be conducted more appropriately in institutions devoted to applied science.

Overall, the Institute of Fundamental Studies is a success story in creating a research culture in Sri Lanka worthy of celebration, at the time of its 40th anniversary. All the Directors, research and support staff had contributed to this effort. More, importantly, this is also the opportune time to examine the factors limiting its progress in meeting mandated objectives. Has the IFS met the intended purpose of its establishment?

Since its inception, fundamental research carried out worldwide has expanded explosively, arousing general curiosity. The elementary particle, Higgs boson, predicted to exist 50 years ago was experimentally detected in 2012; gravitational waves observed in 2015; and gene editing techniques developed during the past few years are expected to revolutionise medicine. Sri Lanka cannot turn a blind eye to such findings and insist that solar cells, batteries, fertiliser and monitoring water quality are our themes of fundamental research! Recent developments in high energy physics, cosmology, astrophysics, theoretical chemistry, computational and theoretical biology are not included in IFS research themes. These are not costly affairs. We need to provide opportunities for the younger generation to engage in challenging frontier themes.

The purpose of the IFS should not be building laboratories for every ‘triviality’ but engaging in endeavours which require more brains than sophisticated equipment. The Institute has to capture the best minds and motivate the young. When it comes to fundamental studies, mediocrity has no place. It is also the duty of the IFS to come forward against occult practices, pseudoscience and ideologies and convey that these have no rational basis but, instead, are detrimental to society. Myths about supernatural powers, alternative medicines and quackeries and implicit fertilisers continue to perpetuate.

The IFS was established for the noble cause of promoting advanced basic research to inspire the nation, with a goal of achieving a status similar to that of the Institute of Advanced Study Princeton, United States. It should be protected from intrigues of mediocrity and those with vested interests who propose dilutions of its theme. Idiotic advisers have misled the policymaker stifling the agriculture of the nation. The writer sincerely hopes that the same would not happen to the IFS.

(Based on a talk delivered on the occasion of the 40^th anniversary of the National Institute of Fundamental Studies.)