Sri Lankan scientist wins prestigious award

Dr. Dilantha Fernando professor of plant pathology and biotechnology, who is now domiciled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the recipient of the highly competetive and prestigious 2006 University of Manitoba Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award.

University of Manitoba is one of the premier academic institutions in Canada, established in 1877 with a student population of 28,000.

This award is given to one academic member of the whole university (from 1200 academic members) in recognition of his commitment to excellence in mentoring graduate students in research and teaching.

This award is given by the 3200 member strong Graduate Students Association.

This is the first time a plant science professor at University of Manitoba has won this award since the award's inception in 1974.

The award recognizes Dr. Fernando's dedication to teaching and training graduate students in research to win national and international awards for their research and publishing seminal papers in peer reviewed journals.