Dr. Vinoth Ramachandra was, until his retirement in late 2023, the Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. After studying Nuclear Engineering at Queen Mary College, London, where he was awarded the Medal of the Institution of Nuclear Engineers upon graduating in 1975, and gaining a PhD from Imperial College, London, in 1979, he returned to his native Sri Lanka in 1980. He was General Secretary of the Fellowship of Christian University Students from 1983 to 1991 and Regional Secretary for South Asia of IFES from 1987 to 2001. His work with IFES included promoting the vision among students and professors of a holistic engagement with the university; giving public lectures and participating in dialogue events in universities; and helping Christian students and graduates think and respond as Christians to some of the social, cultural and political challenges they face in their national contexts throughout the world.
Dr. Ramachandra’s interests in the science-religion arena include the philosophy of science, science-theology engagement, and developments in cosmology, nuclear physics and machine intelligence. He is an Anglican lay preacher in the diocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He Blogs occasionally on https://vinothramachandra.wordpress.com
Recent publications in science and religion
- AI and Robots: Some Asian Approaches, in John Wyatt and Stephen N. Williams (eds.), The Robot Will See You Now: Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith (London: SPCK, 2021)
- ‘God and Natural Evil’, Sarah’s Laughter: Doubt, Tears and Christian Hope (Carlisle: Langham Literature, 2020 ) Ch.4
- Gods That Fail: Modern idolatry and Christian Mission, Rev.Ed (Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2017) Ch. 2 (“The world as Creation”) and Ch.6 (“Science & Anti-Science”)
- Subverting Global Myths: Theology and the Public Issues that shape Our World (London: SPCK, 2008) including the chapter ‘Myths of Science’.
- ‘Towards a Missionary Engagement with Science and Technology’ in A Textbook of South Asian Missiology, eds. Paul Joshua Bhakiaraj and Roger Hedlund (Delhi: ISPCK, 2004)
- ‘Tsunami Tragedy: Where was God?’, Dharma Deepika, Vol.9:2, 22, July-Dec 2005
