Prof. Ranjith Dissanayake is a senior professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Peradeniya. He is a chartered engineer and fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL), and holds membership from several other prestigious institutions. He was Fulbright scholar in the USA, endeavor fellow in Australia, and JASSO research fellow in Japan. He was awarded the Young Scientist Award in 2007 for Excellence in Scientific Research by the National Science and Technology Commission (NASTEC) of Sri Lanka. He received the Overseas Prize of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in the UK in 2007 and the Australia Alumni Excellence Award in 2012. He has published over 150 papers in reputed journals. He has also chaired more than ten international conferences.
Prof. Ajith de Alwis is a senior professor in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge, UK, focusing on "Ohmic heating of foods." Prof. de Alwis has held significant administrative roles, including serving as the head of the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering and the dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Moratuwa. He has also contributed to national science and technology initiatives as the Acting Chief Innovation officer at the National Innovation Agency. His research interests include process optimization, renewable energy systems, and sustainable industrial practices, with numerous publications to his credit.
Dr. Maksud Bekchanov is an environment and development economist holding a Ph.D. degree from Bonn University, Germany. He worked for International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka, Universities of Bonn and Hamburg in Germany as a researcher after PhD studies. He received prestigious Marie-Curie Fellowship and joined to Ca' Foscari University of Venice in Italy in 2022, for conducting research on strategic investments in adaptation and mitigation in water, energy, and food systems. Dr. Bekchanov has broad experience in developing integrated environmental-economic assessment models to analyze environmental policies and technologies. He effectively contributed to water-economic modeling fields and addressing zero-hunger and zero-carbon challenges. His research on circular economy of composting and biogas in Sri Lanka became impactful.
Dr. Pradeep Gajanayake is a senior lecturer in Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. His research interests are based on waste management and wastewater treatment where he has managed to publish many journal and conference papers in these areas. He has obtained his Bachelor's and M.Phil. degrees in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Peradeniya and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Saitama University, Japan. Dr. Gajanayake has authored/co-authored more than 15 peer-reviewed papers and 30 conference papers.
Eng. Sujith Gunawardhana is a Director at INSEE Ecocycle Lanka (Private) Limited, Sri Lanka's leading provider of waste management services. He holds a B.Sc. in Chemical and Process Engineering from the University of Peradeniya, an MBA from Cardiff Metropolitan University, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at the University of Kelaniya. His expertise spans business strategy, circular economy, waste management, renewable energy, waste-to-energy, project management, change management, and business transformation. Prior to his current role, he held positions such as Head of Projects and Project Department Manager at Siam City Cement (Lanka) Limited, and Platform Manager - Geocycle and Project Engineer/Technical Support Engineer at Holcim (Lanka) Limited. He is also a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a Chartered Professional Manager (MCPM) and a Council Member of the Institute of Chartered Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka (IEPSL).
