Teaching assistant
Department of Plant Science, The Open University of Sri Lanka
My PhD work was focused on Associative nitrogen fixing bacteria and their potential to support the growth of bioenergy grasses on marginal lands. I obtained my PhD in Soil Microbiology in 2014 under the supervision of Professor Janet R. Donaldson (https://www.biology.msstate.edu/events/graduate/archive/index.php?year=2014) at Mississippi State University and Professor Mark Williams (https://spes.vt.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/williams-mark/microeco/about.htmlat) at Virginia Tech, USA. While reading for my PhD, I served as a graduate teaching assistant as well as a graduate research assistant. Thereafter, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Mississippi state University until 2015. I joined Faculty of Technology, University of Colombo after completing my graduate studies at the Mississippi State University in 2017 as a Senior Lecturer.
While soil microbiology is my main teaching areas, I enjoyed teaching Biology, Biosystems Technology, Crop Nutrient Management, Agricultural Waste Management and Bioenergy Technology for first and final year undergraduates. Further, I served as a visiting lecturer at SLTC and Institute of Chemistry Ceylon. I am a certified teacher of higher education at Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA), United Kingdom.
My research is focused on understanding how microbial communities assemble and function in ecosystems, soil, the root-zone, and other numerous habitats found in nature. My studies reflect on the mutualistic nature of plant-microbial feedbacks that are a major driver of ecosystems and the global biosphere.
In addition to my teaching and research, I involved in several administrative roles, both inside and outside of the Faculty. I serve as a Young Ambassador to Sri Lanka for American Society for Microbiology and Charted member in Institute of Chemistry and Institute of Biology.
Bachelor degree in Botany (Honours)
Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya
Grad. Chem
Institute of Chemistry Ceylon
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Biological sciences (Soil Microbiology)
Mississippi State University, USA
Department of Plant Science, The Open University of Sri Lanka
Mississippi State University, USA
Mississippi State University
Open University of Sri Lanka
Industrial Technology Institute
Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Colombo
Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Colombo
My Soil Microbial ecology program at Faculty of Technology includes establishment of interdisciplinary research projects that link basic and applied research while involving collaborators within and outside of FoT. Specific focus areas of my research program are:
Level I Semester I
AG 1301 / FT 1202 – Biology
Level I Semester II
AG 1202 – Introduction to Biosystems Technology
AG 1302 – Crop Nutrient Management
Level II Semester I
AG 2201 – Applications of Biosystems Technology
Level III Semester I
AG 3201 – Agricultural Waste Management
AG 3202 – Biostatistics
AG 3203 – Microbes and Agriculture
Level III Semester II
AG 3601 – Industrial Training / Internship
Level IV Semester I
AG 4301 – Novel Agricultural Technologies
Level IV semester II
AG 4207 – Bio Energy Technology
AG 4801 – Research Project