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Concluding Fragments of an Autobiography - by Prof P. G. Cooray
Still busy in retirement
My years of 'retirement' have been extremely busy ones as I have been engaged in a variety of activities since returning to Sri Lanka. It was at this time that I came to know Professor Cyril Ponnamperuma and developed a high regard for him because of his vision, his initiative and his dynamism. In 1988 he appointed me as Coordinator of the Publications Unit of the IFS, a position I occupied until 1992, during which time we published "George Keyt Interpretations" by Sunil Goonasekera, a copy being presented to Keyt on his 90th birthday, on April 17, 1991.

Cyril Ponnamperuma ach-ieved much for the IFS and introduced many important projects, including several for the rural communities who lived around the IFS. It was a sad day for many of us when we bade him farewell at a well-attended function at the Hotel Topaz, and a still sadder day when we heard the news of his sudden and untimely death not long after.

Since leaving the IFS in 1992 I have been attached to the University of Peradeniya, first to the Department of Geography (1992-1996), and since 1995 to the Department of Geology as a Visiting Lecturer, where I still teach a course in Quaternary Geology and Geoscientific Writing to Final Year Geology Special students. My contact these past years with some of the youth of our country has, I think, kept me young in spirit, though not in years!

Two sad events took place during the years of my retirement. In October 1994, Joan's mother Mrs. Gladys Loos fell ill and passed away quietly. She was cremated at Mahiyawa and her ashes were buried in the Nathanielsz family vault in Kanatte. Her passing away left a big gap in our lives. Since 1986, she had played a big part in them, lovingly cared for by her daughter. Her mind was active till the very end, and she enjoyed watching TV, especially the cricket matches and also the company of Jamie whenever he came to us for a holiday.

The other sad event was the passing away of my dear brother Dodwell. We had grown close to each other in the past 10 or 15 years, and he enjoyed staying in Mahakanda with us, which he often did. Dodwell died of a heart attack on January 17, 1997, and was cremated in the UK. His ashes were scattered on the sea somewhere North of Negombo, by his daughters Chandra and Rani.

Scientific writing workshops, 1986-1997
One of my major activities during this period has been the holding of workshops in Geoscientific/Scientific Writing for geoscientists and others in the countries around the Indian Ocean. The idea occurred to me in 1986 to hold a three-day workshop in Geoscientific Writing in Colombo, which was sponsored by AGID. Between 1986 and 1997, I conducted over 50 similar workshops in Sri Lanka (17), India (22), Pakistan (4), Nepal (1), Bangladesh (2), Malaysia (4), Ethiopia (1) and Zambia (1). Over 1400 participants have attended these workshops, and they have included doctors and other scientists besides geoscientists. Holding these workshops has been one of my most rewarding achievements during the whole of my professional career.

Research and publications
I have been engaged in research from my earliest days as a graduate, my first publications being in the field of geography. My introduction to proper systematic research was when I worked on the mineral Idocrase for my Final Year Special Project at Imperial College, and after my return my research was in the field of charnockites and in the Precambrian geology of Sri Lanka. Out of these two main interests, which continued when I went to Nigeria, have come over 100 articles published in the international and national journals. I have also published several books, among which are "An Introduction to the Geology of Ceylon/Sri Lanka" (1967, 1984), and "The Knuckles Massif - A Portfolio" (1998). Now in preparation is "The Geology and Mineral Resources of Sri Lanka" (co-edited with Dr. B. Prame and Dr. J.W. Herath), which we plan to have published early in 2003 to coincide with the centenary of the founding of the geological survey of Sri Lanka by Ananda Coomaraswamy in March 1903. As I write these lines, I realize how important a role scientific writing has played in my life - and it has not stopped!

National and international commitments
Being somewhat of an extrovert, able to get on easily with people, my whole life has been one of involvement in activities going on around me. One of the nicest compliments paid to me was by John Wright in a letter, in which he said: ".... what a great (or fine) catalyst you are." I suppose this is because my mind is never still - it keeps thinking about things that can be done, should be done, and might be done! Let me mention a few instances of this.

While still an undergraduate in Colombo, I became actively involved in the affairs of the Ceylon Geographical Society, and was associated with the establishment of the Ceylon Association for the Advancement of Science (now the SLAAS). Then in 1983 I was closely associated with the setting up of the Geological Society of Sri Lanka and was editor of Volumes 1, 2, 7 and 8 of the Society's Journal.

Sometime after my return to Sri Lanka, several of us pushed for Geology, or Earth Science, to be introduced into our schools from an early age. However, we discovered that elements of Earth Science already existed in the two main OL courses, but that they were being taught by persons who had little or no knowledge of the subject. In my capacity as Chairman of COGEOED, therefore, I conducted a two-day workshop on Earth Science for schools, and this has now been taken over by the Geological Society of Sri Lanka, who held several such workshops for teachers in various provinces. I understand that the subject "Rocks and Minerals" has now been introduced in Year I0, and I am delighted that our efforts in this area have ultimately borne fruit.

Since 1998, I have repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that although we are an island, surrounded by ocean, we did not have a single Faculty or even a Department of Marine Sciences in any of our universities. I felt that this was inexcusable, and pressed for the establishment of such a faculty or department in one of our universities located on the coast. I now hear that a Faculty of Ocean Sciences and Fisheries has been established at Ruhuna University, and again am so very pleased that my efforts in this direction procurred results - and high time, too, I might add!!

My international commitments began in the seventies, when I served on the IUGS Sub-Commission on "Nomenclature of Igneous Rocks", and on various committees and commissions in Nigeria and Zambia. The eighties were busy years in this respect. In 1980 I was appointed to the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO-IUGS International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP), and served on it until 1985. I also served on the Committee of AGID in 1980-84, and was President from 1984-1988. Then in 1989 I was invited to be the Chairman of the IUGS Commission on Geoscience Education and Training (COGEOED), and served in that capacity for several years. I also served on the ICSU Committee for the Teaching of Science from 1992 to 1994.

One of my most important - and rewarding - international involvements has been in getting the geoscientists of Pakistan to hold the first South Asian Geological Congress (GEOSAS) in 1991. It was then taken up by Mr. Hilal Raza, Director of the Hydrocarbon Institute of Pakistan, who also set up the GEOSAS Secretariat in that institution. Because of my role in getting GEOSAS started I have been known as "the godfather of GEOSAS", a title I am very proud of! GEOSAS II was held at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo in 1995, and according to all reports it was a highly successful congress.

Some national and international honours have come my way. In 1995 the Geological Society of America bestowed on me the highly prestigious honour of electing me an Honorary Fellow of the Society, and that same year the Geological Society of Sri Lanka established the "P.G. Cooray Medal" awarded each year to the most outstanding young Sri Lankan geologist. Finally, in 1996, I was jointly awarded (with Dr. M.M.J.W. Herath), the NARESA National Award for Scientific Achievement for 1994/1995.

When I look back over the years, I realise how richly blest I have been in so many ways in my parents and upbringing, in my education, in my marriage and family, in the relatively good health I have had, and in my career. I am especially thankful that my first twenty years as a field geologist provided me with so much material for research; that I was able to leave Ceylon when I did and embark on an academic career; that my work abroad brought me into contact with so many geoscientists and others from so many parts of the world, many of whom have remained my good friends; and that I was privileged to share my geoscientific knowledge with so many young men and women of Nigeria, Zambia, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka, many of whom have held and do hold responsible positions in the public and private sectors in their own countries.

The questions I ask myself at this stage of my life are: "Have I justified my existence here on earth and have I successfully completed the task I was sent here to do? Have I contributed anything of value to the wellbeing of those among whom I have lived?" Perhaps I have and perhaps I haven't, but the real answers to those questions will be given to me when I face my Maker on the other side!

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