Dr. Laxman “Lucky” Amaratunga, a professor in the School of Engineering at Laurentian University, has been bestowed the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canadian Mineral Processors Society.
The award, presented during the society's annual general meeting in Ottawa, recognizes demonstrated excellence in the science of mineral beneficiation and ongoing contribution to the Canadian Mineral Processors.
Amaratunga, who has taught at Laurentian for close to three decades, was cited for his “outstanding contributions to the Canadian mining, metallurgical and processing industries in the areas of education, research in management of mine waste, environmental technology transfer, and the CMP and MetSoc Societies CIM (Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum).”
“I am deeply honoured by this award, and very touched by the tribute from my many colleagues in the CMP,” Amaratunga said in a statement. “Honestly, the CMP kept this a total surprise to me and my wife. I am so happy to be acknowledged by those in my field and also by my university.”
Amaratunga, who has been at Laurentian since 1984, has done research in the areas of tailings management, backfill and environmental stewardship.
He has received the Teck Cominco Environmental Award for his research in processing, utilizing and recycling of waste materials in the mining cycle, and was recognized with Laurentian's Teaching Excellence Award in 2003. In 2011, MetSoc and CMP held a luncheon in his honour at the Conference of Metallurgists.
“Dr. Lucky has long been recognized among his peers as a leading figure in the field of metallurgy and mining chemistry,” Laurentian president Dominic Giroux said in a news release. “We congratulate him on this latest honour. It is indeed a fitting tribute to his life's work.”
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