The World Academy of Science (TWAS), based in Italy, has awarded the “Prof Atta-ur-Rahman Prize” to the Sri Lankan Scientist, Dr Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Chemistry.
According to the spokesman of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi (UoK), TWAS was founded by the Pakistani Nobel Laureate Prof Abdus Salam, and has its headquarters in Trieste, Italy. TWAS has instituted this Prize in honor of Prof Atta-ur-Rahman who is recognized as a leading world scientist.
It is pertinent to mention here that institutions have been established in honor of Prof Atta Ur Rahman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, namely “Atta Ur Rahman Institute on Natural Product Discovery”, and in Changsha, Hunan, China, namely “Academician Professor Atta Ur Rahman One Belt and One Road TCM Research Center”.
He was elected as Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society (London) (2006). And Honorary Life Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge University, UK (2007). Prof Rahman won the UNESCO Science Prize (1999). The Austrian government has honored him with its high civil award (“Grosse Goldene Ehrenzeischen am Bande”) (2007). He has been conferred honorary doctorate degrees by Cambridge University (UK) (1987), and many other leading universities.
Prof Atta Ur Rahman was the Federal Minister of Science and Technology and Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC). He has twice been elected as the President of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS). He is President of Network of Academies of Sciences of Islamic Countries (NASIC), and Foreign Fellow of the Chinese and Korean Academies of Science.
Prof Atta Ur Rahman was conferred the highest scientific award by President Xi Jinping of China, the International Science & Technology Cooperation Award (2020).
