Much-loved retired Queen's University Belfast professor AP de Silva honoured with National Chemical Landmark plaque
A chemistry professor whose research was responsible for the development of a life-saving piece of medical equipment has been honoured with an illustrious blue plaque at Queen’s University Belfast yesterday.
Professor AP de Silva said he was ‘bowled over’ as his contributions to science were recognised with one of our National Chemical Landmarks.
A formal unveiling of the plaque preceded a special event reuniting the popular academic with hundreds of friends and colleagues from across his lengthy career.
The retired researcher, 72, was selected to receive the award as a permanent tribute to a career that included a major discovery that transformed emergency medical care.
The RSC has just awarded 67 of these plaques before this, with more than half a dozen Nobel Prize winners on that list. Another recipient is Queen’s chemistry pioneer Thomas Andrews, whose work in the 1800s established the Northern Irish capital as a scientific hotspot.
Prof de Silva, who hails from Sri Lanka and first moved to Belfast in 1976, retired in 2022 after spending two stints totalling more than 40 years at Queen’s. He was stunned to hear he was being honoured when he was told late last year – and the feeling has still not quite fully sunk in.
He said: “I'm just bowled over by the whole thing, even now. To be honest, I still haven't quite come to terms with it, it’s very humbling.
"[Dr] Kevin [Morgan] asked to speak with me one day five or six months ago and I had no idea what he wanted to discuss – it never entered my head that it might have been about something like this – and he said he had put me forward.
"If he had proposed this before asking me, I would have said: ‘Don't be silly, I’m not in the league of other people on the list at all’ but I am very appreciative that he did.
“I feel such gratitude because this is the standard the RSC has to maintain so I am touched.”
Prof de Silva was given the honour of unveiling the plaque yesterday afternoon, standing alongside his former student and colleague Dr Kevin Morgan, the man who nominated him.
More familiar faces from Prof de Silva's esteemed career took the stage during a series of special speeches in tribute to him. Professor Panagiotis Manesiotis, the Head of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen's University Belfast; Prof Tom Moody, Vice President of Technology Development and Commercialisation at Almac; Dr Hannah Crory, his final PhD student; and Professor Stuart Elborn, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, as well as Dr Morgan.
A number of RSC leaders also took to the stage - namely chief executive Dr Helen Pain, Northern Ireland local section head Dr Dermot Hanna and president Prof Gill Reid - to celebrate his contribution to chemistry and his wide-ranging impact in research and academia.
A tearful Prof de Silva humbly gave his thanks to those who helped him throughout his career, his musical exploits and shared his extraordinary story, covering his journey from Sri Lanka to Belfast. The stories didn't stop there, however, with members of the almost 300-strong audience sharing their tales of the acclaimed academic.
The dinner and drinks reception that followed at Riddel Hall was similarly colourful, with one of Prof de Silva's second loves - traditional Irish music - accentuating the celebratory spirit. It was a fitting tribute to a man who has made a significant impact on the lives of thousands of people around the world.
Blue plaque application process
The scheme is now open to applications. Find out more about the scheme criteria and how to apply.
- Sites receiving a plaque can be established to mark a person, teams, organisation, collaboration, building, process, discovery, innovation, or a breakthrough
- The nomination should represent work by people in the chemical science community which has led to significant positive impacts for local, regional, national, or global society
- The nomination should celebrate diversity in the chemical sciences
- For UK applications, the site for the plaque must be in the UK or Republic of Ireland and should celebrate or commemorate people or work based in the UK or Republic of Ireland
- The site for the plaque must be in an accessible and publicly visible space
- International applications can be considered when made through a sister society or a Royal Society of Chemistry international local section. Please speak with us before making an international application
The scheme is now open for nominations for plaques that will be unveiled in 2025.
Before beginning the application process:
- Please ensure that you have read our application guidance
- Familiarise yourself with the application questions by viewing our sample application form
- Get in touch with the team using the contact details on this page. A member of the team will get back to you to have a short discussion about your nomination ahead of commencing the formal written application
- We welcome informal discussions from people or teams interested in making an application for a new plaque. Please get in touch using the contact details on this page
The application process is a rolling one, and applications received will be reviewed on an individual basis. Outcomes will be notified within three months of submission.
Each application will be considered by a broad panel of representatives from across the RSC in areas including inclusion and diversity, research and innovation, prizes and awards, education, engagement, and communications.
The representative group will consider:
- eligibility criteria being met
- visibility of the site for the plaque
- connection to the RSC’s purpose and mission to help the chemical science community make the world a better place
- the nature of the diversity being celebrated
- the nature of the chemistry being celebrated
- the nature of the impact on science and society – this could be local, regional, national or global and across any area including but not limited to health, climate and the environment, wealth and industry, sustainability, wellbeing, education, justice, equality, nutrition and alleviating poverty
- capacity to engage the local and/or wider community with the chemical sciences – engagement ideas provided at the application stage will be taken into account
- resource capacity and timelines to deliver in the context of other chemical landmarks in the pipeline
Please read our application guidance for further information.
RSC representatives felt compelled to honour the impact of Prof de Silva’s 1985 research, on fluorescent pH indicators based on photo-induced electron transfer. This breakthrough led to the development of a blood electrolyte analyser with multinational healthcare giant Roche. These analysers are still used in A&E departments around the world, measuring levels of vital salts and minerals in seriously injured patients’ blood in just 30 seconds.
Prof Reid said: “Prof de Silva’s work really illustrates the positive impact chemistry can have on the world. He has helped to save lives across the globe through his work that contributed to the development of portable blood electrolyte analysers, and he has inspired so many people with his teaching.
“His story of growing up in Sri Lanka and following his passion for chemistry all the way to Belfast is truly inspirational. Now, after more than four decades of Prof de Silva sharing his work and energy with the chemical sciences community, it is a great pleasure for me to honour him with this National Chemical Landmark plaque here in his adopted homeland.
“We at the Royal Society of Chemistry were very impressed by his contributions to science when considering the nomination and are in no doubt that he is a more than worthy recipient of this plaque.”
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