• 25+ years experience in mathematical, data-driven, statistical and computational modelling research and training, across four continents
• Multiple national awards for research excellence
• 25+ years of curriculum development, educational leadership, pedagogical innovation, and cross-cultural/international education, with outstanding student and peer ratings
• Proven leadership associated with designing institutional processes and their evaluation, supervision and people management, and negotiation with external and international organisations
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, exemplified by 90+ presentations, 1 sole-author book, 50+ research articles, 8 successful grant proposals and 85+ course offerings at the tertiary level

– Mathematical education across primary, secondary and tertiary levels internationally; specializing in active/discovery/student-centred approaches (with or without technology); at course, curriculum or program levels

– Mathematical modelling in diverse settings (physical, biological, chemical, economic, etc) for analysis, design and prediction

– PhD (Applied Mathematics), Brown University, USA (1996).

– ScM (Engineering), Brown University, USA (1996).

– ScM (Applied Mathematics), Brown University, USA (1993).

– BS (Physics), Joint Honors in Physics and Mathematics (summa cum laude) Lafayette College, USA (1992).

– Full scholarships for postgraduate study also awarded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Colorado-Boulder, and the California Institute of Technology (1992, all declined).

– School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Australia (2009-present, on leave 2010-2013)

– Department of Mathematics, Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, USA (2006-2013, on leave 2009-2010)

– School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Australia (2002-2006)

– Department of Mathematics, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, USA (2000-2002)

– Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (1997-2000)

– Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, The Netherlands (2019)

– Division of Applied Mathematics, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA (1999-2000)

– Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka (1998)

– Department of Mathematics, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (1996)

– Future Fellow, Australian Research Council (2014).

– Endeavour Research Leadership Award, Australian Commonwealth Department of Education and Training (2019).

– J.H. Michell Medal, Australia/New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ANZIAM) Society (2006).

– Sole-author monograph Barriers and Transport in Unsteady Flows: a Melnikov Approach, written upon invitation by the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the premier international professional body for applied mathematics (2016).

– Publications in the top journals across many different disciplines, including in applied mathematics ( SIAM Review ), fluid mechanics ( Journal of Fluid Mechanics ), mathematical biology ( Journal of Theoretical Biology ), physics ( Physical Review Letters ), nonlinear analysis ( Nonlinearity ), geophysics ( Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics ), nonlinear science ( Physica D ), microfluidics ( Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering ), combustion ( Combustion Theory and Modelling ), and dynamical systems ( SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems ).

– Co-organizer for conferences in the USA (Brown University, 2011), China (Suzou, 2016) and Australia (Adelaide, 2018).

– Fully-funded full-week workshops for ~40 participants won as lead-organiser at the prestigious mathematical institutes at Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach (Germany) and Banff International Research Station (Canada) .

– Director (a.k.a. Associate Dean) of Learning and Teaching, Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide (2020-2023).
[This role had many aspects, including providing pedagogical leadership at a Faculty comprising 320 academic staff and serving 6,700 students, overseeing the academic progress of underperforming students, overseeing the course review process at the Faculty, preparing reports on performance metrics (student surveys, failure rates, national surveys such as QILT, etc).]

– Interim Academic Co-Director, Haide College, Shandong, China (late 2021- early 2022).
[Haide College is a joint program between Ocean University of China and the University of Adelaide .]

– Mathematics Degree Program Coordinator, Haide College, Shandong, China (2020-).

– Director (a.k.a. Associate Head) of Internationalization, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Adelaide, with de facto membership in the School Management Committee (2020-2022).

– Numerous committee/administrative roles at all universities served in, from departmental to top-university level. Examples include at the University of Adelaide (Covid-initiated Online Examinations Working Group, First-Year Curriculum Review, Honours Coordinator, delegate to North Carolina State University to establish collaborative agreement), Connecticut College (Goodwin-Niering Centre for the Environment Faculty Fellow, Facilities and Land Management Committee), University of Sydney (Academic Board Nominee, Honours Coordinator), Oberlin College (Academic Standing Committee), and the University of Peradeniya (Postgraduate Board of Study, Curriculum Revision, Computer Advisory; Vice-President of the Engineering Faculty Teachers Union; University Arts Council).

– Initiated participation in, and was Advisor and Trainer of undergraduate teams for the Mathematical Contest in Modeling at Connecticut College, USA (2007-2012) and the University of Adelaide (2014-). Many "meritorious winners" were advised, as well as a team which was declared Overall Winner and Winner of the INFORMS Award (2015).

– Mathematics curriculum development expertise at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels across a large range of courses, including pure and applied mathematics, mathematics for engineers, mathematics for humanities, transdiciplinary courses (e.g., environmental modelling), and statistics

– Pioneering approaches to active and student-centred learning methods in mathematics, for example

– Expertise in teaching and developing course/programs internationally (e.g., in liberal arts colleges in the US, as Academic Co-Director of the Haide College joint initiative between Ocean University, China and the University of Adelaide, Australia ), bringing in global expertise while being sensitive to prevailing local approaches

– Engagement with primary, secondary and tertiary education, for example through activities outlined below

– Elected Board Member of the Australian Mathematical Science Institute (AMSI), the national peak body for mathematics (2021-2023, 2023-2025).
[AMSI works in collaboration with commonwealth and state governments and their departments of education, as well as with schools and universities. It has input into the national mathematics curriculum, and has many programs for mathematics students and teachers, including internships for students and resources for school teachers.]

– Volunteer judge for the Global Undergraduate Awards, which evaluates and awards outstanding international undergraduates in their journey to become global research leaders of the future (2022-).

– Volunteer mentor for the Student Robotics Club of South Australian (RoboRoos), and in particular mentoring their middle-school team to two international first place awards (Houston, USA, 2018; Detroit, USA, 2019) and being crowned National Champion (2017) at the FIRST Lego League championships.

– Executive Committee Member Australia/New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ANZIAM) Society (2005-2006).

– Conducting regular volunteer mathematics enrichment sessions within the curriculum at Norwood Primary School, in partnership with teachers Sybila Ford and Anastasia Agorastos, for Years 4, 5 and 6 students (Adelaide, Australia, 2016-2018).

– Governing Council member, Glenunga International High School (South Australia's best public school according to many measures), Adelaide, Australia (2020-2023).

– Volunteer judge for SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equations Modeling, an international competition for teams of undergraduates run through the US National Science Foundation-funded Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations (2020-).

– Volunteer for the Aboriginal Summer School for Excellence in Technology and Science program's hosting of high-achieving Aboriginal high-school students in work-placements and career development (Adelaide, Australia, 2016-2019).

– Theatre: Acting, training, directing and judging theatre in the USA and Sri Lanka, principally within the method-acting philosophy. Credits include "Arms and the Man," "The Unexpected Guest," "Anthills," "Temptation" (alongside a Royal Shakespeare Company actor), "Nimbus," "The Education of Miss Asia" and "Bodies."

– Bridge: Member of the Sri Lanka Under 21 Bridge Team which won the Asia-Middle East Youth Bridge Championship (1987).

– Badminton: Varsity coloursman at both the school and university levels, and have represented Sri Lanka's Central Province team.

– Hiking and Wilderness: Have trekked/visited extensively, including in the USA (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Great Smokies, White Mountains, Badlands, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Capitol Reef, Monument Valley, Everglades, Rocky Mountains, Joshua Tree, etc), Australia (Flinders Ranges, Daintree, Blue Mountains, Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Watarrka, Warrumbungle, Grampians, Wilson's Promontory, Pinnacles, Nullabor, Head of the Bight, Cradle Mountain, etc), Sri Lanka (Hantane, Horton Plains, Knuckles, Hunnasgiriya, Great Western, Yala, Bundala, Udawalawe, Ritigala, etc), the Himalayas (Goecha La near Kanchenjunga in Sikkim), Việt Nam (Hạ Long Bay, Dong Van Karst Geopark, Lake Ba Bể), China (Gansu Tibetan region), Türkiye (Cappadocia), Peru (Ballestas islands, Colca Cañon, Titicaca), New Zealand (Tongariro, Fiordlands, Milford Sound, Aoraki, Franz-Josef Glacier, Moeraki boulders, etc), Tanzania (Kilimanjaro region, Serengeti, Ngorongoro), the Andes (around Cotopaxi, Chimborazo to the snow line, Azufral peak), and Amazonia (Ecuadorian Amazon around Río Napo).

– Travel: Strong interest in travelling to ancient sites, having been to Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Ephesus, Aphrodisias, İstanbul, Luang Prabang, Great Wall of China, Terracotta Warriors, Labrang, Nazca, Valley of the Kings, Giza Plateau, Saqqara, Cusco, Huế, Mesa Verde, Oldupai (Olduvai) Gorge, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, etc, plus more modern sites such as Praha, Paris, Budapest, Hà Nội, Medellín, Caracas, Hallstadt, Vienna, Kyoto, Bratislava, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Neuschwanstein, Versailles, Beijing, Rome, Venice, Madrid, etc.