Dr. Ray Wijewardene Memorial Oration Remembering a pioneer among inventors

Eng. Lalith Seneviratne receives a token of appreciation at the annual Dr. Ray Wijewardene memorial oration held at the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) Auditorium on August 20 

An official at the annual Dr. Ray Wijewardene memorial oration seen garlanding a monument of the great Sri Lankan engineer, aviator, inventor, and an Olympic athlete

The lighting of the traditional oil lamp at the annual Dr. Ray Wijewardene memorial oration which was held, at the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) Auditorium on August 20

A section of participants at the oration

• Dr. Wijewardene’s time on earth was dedicated towards the contribution and service towards bettering the lives of those in need

By Aakil Riyaz

The annual Dr. Ray Wijewardene memorial oration for the year 2025, was held on August 20 (which also happens to be Dr. Ray Wijewardene’s 101st birthday), at the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) Auditorium. Organized by the Agriculture and Plantation Engineering Sectional Committee of the Institution, the topic for the oration was on, ‘The Conservationist in Ray Wijewardene’ and was delivered by Engineer Lalith Seneviratne. Dr. Wijewardene (1924-2010) was a Sri Lankan engineer, aviator, inventor, and an Olympic athlete. 

For the uninitiated, Dr. Wijewardene’s name would bring nothing short of bewilderment and intrigue, but for those who had the privilege to work and learn alongside him, Dr. Wijewardene truly was a colossus in his own right. Lalith Seneviratne, a mentee and former protégé of Dr. Wijewardene, possesses a rich accretion of experiences in the corporate sector within the country. Having served as the Executive Director and Group CEO of Sri Lanka Telecom, he is nothing short of the perfect individual to deliver this year’s memorial oration. Additionally, he also was the founding Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Celltel. Moreover, Eng.Seneviratne developed a Dendro electrical generator named Lanka Sunray in Dr. Ray’s honour.

Eng. Seneviratne delved into a series of lived experiences, learnings and misadventures during his time with Dr. Ray Wijewardene, along with expertly intertwining them with present day analogies. Leaving no holds barred, Eng. Senevirate invoked in the audience a powerful wistfulness, emphasising that despite Dr. Wijewardene’s time on earth being an ephemeral one, his immense contribution and service towards bettering the lives of those in need, all the while retaining his boyish sense of adventure are what made him unique. 

Eng. Seneviratne also stressed on the state of nature of intellectual property, alluding to certain inventions invented by his team in the past under Dr. Wijewardene’s guidance, “What I would like to say is that we did not recognise the intellectual property value of these inventions and protect their rights, including presenting them for the benefit of the country and commercializing them. This is a message I would like to leave to the younger generations. Most of the times, because we have become slaves to imports and imported products, we forget that once we were a nation of innovators,” he said. 

During the course of the oration Eng. Seveniratne alluded to many an incident from Dr. Wijewardene’s life layering with an underlying implication of living one’s life to the fullest, which the esteemed Dr. Wijewardene did indeed do. 

Some notable incidents from Dr. Wijewardene’s life that Eng. Seneviratne alluded to were him piloting the 'Little Nellie' gyrocopter in the 1967 James Bond film 'You Only Live Twice', participating in a bull-fight (and narrowly escaping within an inch of his life), crash landing his aircraft on Geoffrey Bawa’s infamous Lunuganga estate roof (much to his astonishment). All these escapades truly showcase Dr. Wijewardene’s precise balance between academia and his own recreational activities. 

Eng. Seneviratne tangentially connected some of Dr. Wijewardene’s teachings with contemporary innovation and Sri Lanka’s role in the coming years, “Ray taught us to innovate for the global market, not just the domestic one. We are a small nation with little affordability and a small market, unlike India. Global markets need a margin and scale to hire top engineers to produce top products, and in the process, retain some of the best brains in the country. If we think of it, we as a nation are the exposed winners from a product point of view. We are still largely relying on companies that are increasingly produced cheaper by our competitors. Services, including IT, will face challenges with AI unless we go for more efficient and sophisticated IT, which requires the best talent.

The oration was graced by the family and friends of the late Dr. Ray Wijewardene, along with engineers, and other participants from academia. 

The untenable impact Dr. Wijewardene had left within the engineering community within the country was greatly evident during the event, particularly the IESL, for taking the effort to hold the annual memorial oration in his honour. 

Deshamanya Vidyajyothi Dr. Philip Revatha Wijewardene lived an unconventional yet phenomenal life. He displayed an unshakeable ethos rooted in sincerity and humility during the course of his life, which continues to vicariously shine even to this day, through the countless lives he touched during his lifetime. 

It is also worth noting that he pioneered technological advancements such as the ‘Land master’ (hand tractor), exploration of alternative energy sources such as Dendro-energy, and his immense contribution to aviation in Sri Lanka. His legacy is one that will stand the test of time, as he didn’t simply build his own wings, but also taught others to do the same and fearlessly take flight just as he did.