Dr Ashani Savinda Ranathunga is focused on turning industrial and agricultural waste into anthropogenic (man-made) soil for geotechnical engineering-related applications. She is a proponent of the “waste to wealth” concept, which is to produce green and value-added products from waste for sustainable and greener applications. Her research findings enable the effective utilization of locally available waste as secondary raw materials for economical and ecofriendly construction and development projects.

Specifically, she is using industrial waste products like fly ash and calcium carbide residues, and agricultural waste products like paddy husk ash and corn cob ash, to stabilize soft soil that is otherwise too weak for construction, contributing to greater longevity of infrastructure. She is also using the same waste products to rehabilitate degraded land and soil in abandoned mines, reducing environmental pollution and adverse social impacts. In addition, she looks at the effective utilization of shallow geothermal resources for energy production in rural areas of Sri Lanka.

Dr Ranathunga completed her undergraduate degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Ruhuna in 2013, graduating at the top of her class. She received her PhD from Monash University, Australia, in 2017, where she won the best PhD thesis award and the postgraduate publication award for her work on enhancing extraction of coal bed methane from deep underground coal seams by injecting CO2. Her findings demonstrated the opportunities of using low-rank coal for CO2-Enhanced Coal Bed Methane (CO2-ECBM).After completing her PhD, she joined the University of Moratuwa as a Lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering.

Dr. Champika Ellawala Kankanamge works on ecosystem conservation and pollution control. Her current research efforts are focused on controlling invasive macrophytes (aquatic plants) in river ecosystems, by restoring shade and encouraging the natural resistance of native plants to invasive species. By understanding the behavior of aquatic plants in response to changes in environmental conditions, her research will help to control ecosystem degradation. She additionally works on assessing pollution levels in aquatic ecosystems. Specifically, she is studying the levels of heavy metals in edible fish and shellfish in Sri Lanka’s Batticaloa lagoon, which serves as the main source of seafood for the local community. Dr. Ellawala Kankanamge was born in Matara, Sri Lanka.

She started her career as an engineer after graduating from the University of Moratuwa with a degree in civil engineering in 2005. Soon after beginning to work as an engineer, she decided to continue her education, and obtained a PhD from Saitama University, Japan in 2011. She joined the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka as a Senior Lecturer attached to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering just after the completion of her PhD. Since then, she has served as a teacher and supervisor for many undergraduate and postgraduate students. In 2013, she received the Sri Lankan President’s award for scientific publications. Dr. Ellawala Kankanamge collaborates with the Eastern University in Sri Lanka for her research on the Batticaloa lagoon, in addition to research collaborations with other government institutions. She has conducted research studies in Sri Lanka, Japan and New Zealand. Her research has been published in high-impact journals including the Journal of Environmental Sciences, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Flora, Aquatic Botany, Aquatic Ecology and Hydrobiologia. Results of her studies will contribute to local and global freshwater ecosystem conservation

Dr. Duleeka Sandamali Gunarathne is a chemical and process engineer from Sri Lanka, specializing in bioenergy systems. Her research focuses on biomass thermochemical conversion technologies, and she is committed to sustainable energy education. Duleeka has pioneered practical solutions for clean energy, mentored future professionals, and contributed as a technical expert to national and international energy initiatives.

Dr Imalka Munaweera is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka. Her research focuses on using synthetic chemistry techniques to produce nanoparticles and nanofibre composites that can be applied in a range of functions, from drug delivery to water filtration to minimizing post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables. She has made particular advances in using nanotechnology to produce environmentally-friendly and cost-effective crop fertilizers, and in developing chemoradiotherapeutic formulations and radiotherapeutic bandages for use in lung and skin cancer treatment.

Imalka first became interested in functional and applied materials as an undergraduate at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, where she worked on applications of iron oxide nanoparticles. As a master’s student at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, she gravitated towards nanofertilizer research, for which she received the National Science and Technology Award in 2010 and holds two US patents. She went on to do a PhD at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she developed an innovative approach that could ultimately enable clinicians to target and aggressively reduce tumor burden in cancer patients. She also holds two US patents as well as a Sri Lankan patent and an international patent for this technology.

Following three years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Imalka worked as an Assistant Professor at Prairie View A&M University in Texas before returning to Sri Lanka, where she has worked since 2019.

Imalka received a Sri Lankan National Research Council Private-Public Partnership grant in 2019 and a research grant from TWAS, the World Academy of Sciences, in 2020. She has won several awards and has published many papers in prestigious journals including Nature Scientific Reports, Biomaterials and ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. In addition, she has more than 10 years of experience mentoring high school, undergraduate and graduate student

Renuka Attanayake is a plant pathologist working on crop disease identification and management in Sri Lanka. Her projects include the optimization of a rapid detection method of coconut phytoplasma in Sri Lanka, and the identification of genetic diversity of white mold pathogen on cabbage and black mold on onions. With her work, she is contributing to the development of resistant inducer treatments and farmers’ education to reduce the negative effects of some of the most common crop diseases in her country.

Dr Tasrina Rabia Choudhury is a chemist from Bangladesh with expertise ranging from water quality improvement to environmental restoration, from climate change to risk assessment and environmental modeling, and more. She is working to pioneer novel approaches in the remediation techniques of toxic elements from wastewater and drinking water, ensuring the delivery of safe drinking water to underserved communities. Tasrina has actively engaged with local communities, implementing awareness campaigns that educate them about the importance of hygiene and efficient water use.

Dr. Thilini Mudiyanselage is a Professor in the Department of Polymer Science at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, and a polymer chemist by training and practice. She earned an Honors degree in Chemistry, which laid a strong foundation in molecular science and led her to pursue a PhD, where she was introduced to the world of polymers and their potential to address pressing sustainability and climate challenges. Her research focuses on bio-based polymers, waste-derived materials, and functional hydrogels for water treatment, agriculture, and nutrient-use efficiency.