Kamalanath Samarakoon (1970)
My Persornal Details
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I was born in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in 1964.
I studied at Dharmaraja College, Kandy, from 1970 to 1983. I was the Deputy Head Prefect and Vice Captain of the General Knowledge and Debating Team in 1983. I won 1st place in the Oratory Championship held by the Kandy Buddhist Association. I was a member of the General Knowledge team that won the Championship organised by the YMBA, Kandy, in 1982 and 1983, and was the Runner-up of the inter-school National General Knowledge Championship organised by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and the National Milk Board in 1983. I received, Sir. D.B. Jayathilake Memorial Dhammapada Special Price and a Special Prize for the General Knowledge Team from President J.R. Jayawardene and Minister of Education Mr. Samraweeera Weerawanni in 1983 and 1984, respectively. As a member of the debating team of the college, I participated in the "Tharuna Sithuvili" youth programme conducted by Dr E.W. Adhikaram and Minister of Education Mr Samaraweera Weerawanni and organised by the SLBC. In addition, I have participated in several friendly debating contests with the schools in Kandy, such as Mahamaya, High School, Pushpadana, Walala Central, etc.
In 1985 and 1986, I was a Kandy District Sports Quiz team member for the National Sports Quiz contest organised by the Sri Lanka Television (Rupavahini) Corporation (SLRC). In 1987, I captained the team and won the national championship.
I entered the Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, in 1985. I received a B.Sc. in electrical and electronic engineering degree from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in 1991.
While I was a student of the faculty of engineering, I was the captain of a two-member team in the "Dulux" Inter-University Engineering and General Knowledge contest organised by the Sri Lanka Television (Rupavahini) Corporation (SLRC) and won the national championship in 1991.
I joined the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), the public power utility of Sri Lanka, in 1992 as an Electrical Engineer and worked for 15 years in the areas of hydropower plant rehabilitation, maintenance, instrumentation, and control and as a Chief Engineer (Computer application and IT).
While working at CEB, I obtained an M.Eng. in computer science from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, in 1996 with an Excellent Pass.
In 1999, I received the Award for Excellent Achievement, awarded to the best participant in the Client Server System Development COURSE conducted by the Centre for International Corporation for Computerisation (CICC) in Japan. For the research and development done in the CEB, I was awarded the Wimalasurendra Award from the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka in 2000, and the National Science and Technology Award by the President of Sri Lanka in 2006.
In 2007, I joined the Department of Computer Engineering, University of Peradeniya, as a Senior Lecturer. From 2009 to 2012, I worked as a Research Assistant on study leave and obtained a PhD from Cardiff University, U.K. in 2012. In 2013, my PhD received the best undergraduate engineering research conducted between 2009 and 2012, awarded by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka.
I am a Chartered Engineer in Sri Lanka and the U.K., a Member of the IESL, IET, and a senior member of IEEE.
My research interests are Computer Interfacing, Instrumentation & Industrial Control, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Computer Applications in Power System Automation and Control, Image Processing, Embedded Systems and IoT and Parallel Programming. I have published more than 30 papers in journals and conferences, and am a reviewer of leading national and international journals.
I have been a member of the committees on evaluating degree programmes in Sri Lanka and a member of the committee for evaluating the National Engineering Research Centre (NERD) in 2013.
I am the founder president of the IEEE Central Region Subsection and a Charter member of a Lions Club and a Toastmasters Club of Kandy.
I have been doing many social activities and an officer and active member in many societies, including professional organisations such as IESL, IET, IEEE, Old Boys’ Associations of Dharmaraja College and the College Archives Foundation, Alumni Association of the Engineering Faculty, PEFAA.