China – Sri Lanka Joint Research and Demonstration Center for Water Technology (JRDC) is the first China-aided technological project in Sri Lanka and established to become one of the outstanding research centers for drinking water testing in South Asia. Scientists from both China and Sri Lanka use JRDC as a platform to engage in multiple collaborative research areas, including high-end research on the causative elements of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown etiology (CKDu) and technology development strategies to obtain safe drinking water. To strengthen the collaborative research work between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the University of Peradeniya and the JRDC, Prof. JG. Shirani Ranasinghe (Senior Professor in Biochemistry), Prof. SHP. Parakrama Karunaratne (Senior Professor & Chair of Zoology), Prof. Shameen Jinadasa (Professor in Civil Engineering) and Dr. HM. Sanjeewani Wasana (Senior Lecturer, Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture) from University of Peradeniya (UoP) have been awarded the President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI) by the CAS for the years 2021 and 2022. Two PIFI fellowships were received by by Prof. Rohana Chandrajith (Senior Professor in Geology) and Prof. Sanjeewa Malaviarachchi (Professor in Geology) in 2020. The awarding ceremony of 2021/2022 fellowships held at the JRDC on 19th December 2022. Prof. M.D. Lamawansa, the Vice-chancellor of UOP and Prof. Yuansong Wei, the Director of the Laboratory of Water Pollution Control Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) graced the occasion as the Chief Guests.
