A. W. Mailvaganam

Mailvaganam was born on 16 November 1906.[1][2] He was the son of Arumugam Wisvalingam from Suthumalai in northern Ceylon.[3] He was educated at Jaffna Central College, St. Benedict's College, Colombo and Royal College, Colombo.[1][2] After school he joined Ceylon University College, graduating in 1923 with first class BSc honours degree in science.[1][3] He then joined Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1924, obtaining an MA honours degree in Natural Science Tripos in 1928.[1][3] He received a PhD from Cambridge in 1938.[1][2]

Mailvaganam had a son, Gajanandan Nandakumar.[3] Mailvaganam was a devout Hindu and worshipped at the temple in Bambalapitiya.[4]

After university Mailvaganam joined the Ceylon University College as a lecturer in physics in 1932.[3] He became a professor of physics in 1939 and served Dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Ceylon between 1948 and 1954.[1][2][3] He acted as vice chancellor on a number of occasions when Nicholas Attygalle was vice chancellor.[1] He retired in 1966.[3]

In the 1949 Birthday Honours Mailvaganam was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[5] He received the Vidya Jyothi honour in 1985.[1]

Mailvaganam was president of the Ceylon Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the University Grants Commission and Board of Governors of the Institute of Fundamental Studies.[1] He received honorary DSc degrees from the University of Colombo (December 1980) and University of Jaffna.[1][6] The University of Colombo has named one of its annual awards after Mailvaganam.[7]

Mailvaganam died on 25 March 1987.[1][2]