R. Kumaravadivel

Rajaratnam Kumaravadivel is a Sri Lankan Tamil and Emeritus Professor of theoretical physics. He was the former dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Jaffna, former acting Vice-chancellor and the current Chancellor of the University of Jaffna.

Early life Kumaravadivel joined the University of Ceylon, graduating in 1967 with first class honours BSc degree and winning the Coomarasamy Prize for Science. He was also the first person to receive both a first class honours degree specialising in physics (1970) and the Hewavitharana memorial prize for best performance in Physics from the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya.

Career Kumaravadivel served as a lecturer and head of the Department of Physics at Peradeniya Campus of the University of Sri Lanka between January 1978 and January 1979. Whilst at Peradeniya, he helped in conducting final year Physics undergraduate lectures for the newly formed Department of Physics at the University of Jaffna. Jaffna being his hometown, he later settled there and joined the University of Jaffna as one of the founding professors of the Department of Physics. He led the Computer Unit (computing facility) at the University from August 1989 to October 1990, during its formative years. He was the University Grants Commission (Sri Lanka) nominee for the Vice-Chancellorship of the University of Jaffna for three consecutive times – in 2000, 2003 and 2006. He was appointed as acting Vice-Chancellor of the University between June 2006 and December 2007 after the nominee Ratnajeevan Hoole did not take up his post. and in August 2025, appointed the Chancellor of University of Jaffna