Description

Followed by refreshments, the first annual general meeting (AGM) of the Microwave Theory and Techniques (MTT) was started at 10.30 a.m. in Seminar Room 2 of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya. The first item of the agenda was the welcome speech by the incumbent chair Dr. Aruna Gunawardena. In his speech, he welcomed all the members for coming from far a way places to Kandy in a weekend for this special event. He explained that the objective of the meeting was mainly to elect a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and an Editor to coordinate activities of the chapter and to come up with an activity plan. Aruna's address was followed by the address of the IEEE Sri Lanka, Section, Chair, Dr. Lilantha Samaranayake. On behalf of the IEEE Sri Lanka Section, Dr. Samaranayake expressed his gratitude for the initiative taken to form a local MTT chapter. He mentioned the importance of developing the education, research, and technical know how in the field of microwaves in Sri Lanka and promised to extend the maximum support of the IEEE Sri Lanka Section to the newly formed MTT chapter. Following Dr. Samaranayaka's address, Dr. Aruna Gunawardena addressed the gathering and expressed his willingness to resign from the post of Chapter Chair. Dr. Gunawardena had been appointed as the chair by the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities committee, as he was the organizer in the petition submitted to the IEEE to form the chapter. He decided to resign from the post to pave way to an elected chair. The election process was conducted by Dr. Lilantha Samaranayake. The following officers were selected with the unanimous agreement of the membership. 1. Chair: Dr. Vijitha. R. Herath, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya. 2. Vice Chair: Mrs. Indrani M. Hissalle, Sri Lanka Telecom. 3. Secretary: Dr. Aruna Gunawardena, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya. 4. Treasurer: Dr. Disala N. Uduwawala. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya. 5. Editor: Mr. M. P. Gunasinghe Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Sri Lanka. Following the election of offices, the newly elected chapter chair, Dr. Vijitha Herath, addressed the gathering. He thanked the membership for electing him as the chair and emphasized the importance of enhancing the knowledge and skills in this area. Increasing the membership of the MTT Sri Lanka chapter was recognized as a target to be achieved in the near future. It was decided to arrange several field trips to organizations such as Sri Lanka Teclecom (SLT) and Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) where the microwave technology is directly relevant, and to explain the benefits of being part or a society like MTT to the practicing engineers. It was also decided to host a series or workshops to improve the technical competency of RF and Microwave Engineers in Sri Lanka. The invitation of speakers under the IEEE distinguished speaker program was also discussed. The meeting was concluded with the vote of thanks by the newly elected secretary, Dr Aruna Gunawardena.