Premala Sivaprakasapillai née Sivasegaram (born 22 April 1942) is a Sri Lankan engineer. She is the country’s first female engineer and the first female civil engineer.[1][2] She is also one of the prominent members of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka.[3]
Premala Sivaprakasapillai Sivasegaram | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 April 1942 Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Education | Ladies' College, Colombo |
| Alma mater | University of Ceylon Somerville College, Oxford |
| Occupation | engineer |
| Known for | first female engineer |
In March 2019, she was acknowledged as one of twelve female change-makers in Sri Lanka by the parliament, coinciding with International Women's Day.[4][5]
Biography
editPremala Sivaprakasapillai was in Jaffna Fort in her maternal granduncle’s District Judge quarters.[6] Her father Thambyapillai Sivaprakasapillai was an engineer who worked at the Colombo Port.[7] Her family stayed in Colombo but was later forced to move back to their hometown, Jaffna, following the bombing on Colombo Port by the Japanese in 1942 on the eve of Easter Sunday.[3] Sivasegaram was born on 22 April 1942 in Jaffna.
Career
editSivasegaram received her education at the Ladies' College. She then entered the engineering faculty at the University of Ceylon in 1960. She was one of the two girls who followed the mathematics stream in her batch. [8] In 1964 she became the country’s first female engineering undergraduate and the first female engineer.[9] After graduating she was appointed as an instructor in the engineering faculty at the university.
Sivasegaram received a scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford enabling her to gain a doctorate degree in structural engineering and on behalf of the college she attended the International Conference for Women Engineers and Scientists in 1967.[10] Whilst studying there, she joined the British Women's Engineering Society in 1966 and took part in their launch of the first Women in Engineering Year in 1969.[11]
In 1978, she became the first female chief structural engineer in the country and was transferred to the Designs Office in Colombo. She served as one of the prominent engineers in the country when open economic policies were introduced in 1977 by the then President Junius Richard Jayawardene.[10]
Sivasegaram moved to England following the 1983 Black July riots and returned to Sri Lanka once the normalcy was established.[when?][10]
Recognition
editIn 2015 she was a recipient of the 'Excellence in Engineering Award', awarded by the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka.[12]
In March 2019, she was acknowledged as one of twelve female change-makers in Sri Lanka by the parliament, coinciding with International Women's Day.[4][5]
References
edit- ^ EFac7075 (2019-07-25). "EFac7075 Fwd: Dr. Premala Sivaprakasapillai Sivasegaram: The First Female Engineer In Sri Lanka". efac7075. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Search Results | National Library of Australia". catalogue.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ a b "The Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka - Lady Engineers of Sri Lanka". ioes18.wildapricot.org. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ a b "Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka parliament celebrates Sri Lankan Women Changemakers". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ a b Mudalige, Disna; Indrakumar, Camelia Nathaniel and Menaka. "Twelve prominent women to be celebrated". Daily News. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ Lanka, Everystory Sri (2021-11-26). "The Life of A Sri Lankan Change maker: Dr. Premala Sivaprakasapillai Sivasegaram". Medium. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
- ^ "Professor Thambyahpillai Sivaprakasapillai (Civil and Environmental Engineering 1933". Imperial News. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ "Dr. Premala Sivaprakasapillai Sivasegaram: The First Female Engineer In Sri Lanka - Roar Media". archive.roar.media. 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
- ^ "Firsts Of A Kind". serendib.btoptions.lk. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ a b c "Premala Sivaprakasapillai Sivasegaram - The first female engineer in Sri Lanka". roar.media. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ "The Woman Engineer Vol 10". www2.theiet.org. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "Engineering Excellence Awards Past winners". iesl.lk. Retrieved 2019-11-14.