Name : K M Thilini D Gunasekara
Position : Professor
Contact information :
Telephone (office): +94 112 801 179
Email Address: thilinidg@sjp.ac.lk
Office location:
Office hours : Monday – Friday 1.00-3.00 p.m.
Teaching : Polymer degradation, polymer characterization, hydrogels, polymer chemistry
Work experiences :
Senior lecturer grade I/ Professor (Present – August 2011)
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Postdoctoral Fellow (June 2009-July 2011)
Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX, USA.
Industrial Postdoctoral Fellow (November 2008-June 2009)
Spectra Group Limited, Inc. Millbury, OH, USA.
Graduate Research Assistant (2004-October 2008)
Center for Photochemical Science, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
Research interests :
- Hydrogels for water purification
- Smart materials
- Degradable Polymers
- Oil absorbing polymers
- Hydrogels for agriculture
- Plastic pollution
- Micropalstics
Selected Recent Research Publications:
Impact of Hydrogels on Early Growth of Maize in Sandy Regosols: Progress towards Improving Growth Performance by Enhancing Water and Nutrients Retention Capacity of the Soil, T.S. Rasadaree, H.M.I.K. Herath, H.T. Dedduwakumara, N. Kottegoda, T. Kuruwita- Mudiyanselage Journal of Food and Agriculture 2021, 14(I): 36 – 48
Thermo-responsive poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) hydrogel with increased response rate, MB Dharmasiri, TK Mudiyanselage – Polymer Bulletin, 2020
Highly porous, fast responding acrylamide hydrogels through emulsion polymerization using coconut oil, Mihisirini Bhagya Dharmasiri, Thilini Kuruwita Mudiyanselage Journal of Polymer Engineering Published Online: 2020-02-21 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/polyeng-2019-0290
A novel tri-metal composite incorporated polyacrylamide hybrid material for the removal of arsenate, chromate and fluoride from aqueous media, S.K.T. Thathsara, Asitha T. Cooray, Dilru R. Ratnaweera , Thilini Kuruwita Mudiyanselage. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 14 (2019) 100353.
Synthesis, photodegradable and antibacterial properties of polystyrene-cinnamaldehyde copolymer film, Umeka Nayanathara, Nilwala Kottegoda, Inoka C. Perera, Thilini Kuruwita Mudiyanselage. Journal of Polymer Degradation and Stability, 2018, 155,195.
A Novel Fe- La-Ce tri-metallic composite for the removal of fluoride ions from aqueous media, S. K. T. Thathsara, P. L. A. T. Corray, A.; Thilini Kuruwita Mudyanselage, Nilwala Kottegoda, Dilru R. Ratnaweera, Journal of Environment Management, 2018, 207, 387
A New Process for Manufacturing and Stabilizing High-Performance EOR Surfactants at Low Cost for High-Temperature, High-Salinity Oil Reservoirs, Stephanie Adkins, S., Pathma J Liyanage, Gayani W P Pinnawala Arachchige, Thilini Mudiyanselage, Uplai Weerasooriya, Gary A. Pope, SPE journal, 129923, 2010.Mudyanselage, T.; Adkins, S.; Liyanage, J.; Pinnawela, G.; Weerasooriya, U.; Pope, G.
Dual responsive poly (N‐isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels having spironaphthoxazines as pendant groups, Erandimal U. Kulawadana, Thilini Kuruwita – Mudyanselage, Douglas C Neckers, Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 2009, 47(13), 3318-3325.
Photochromic superabsorbent polymers, Thilini K. Mudiyanselage, Douglas C Neckers, Soft Matter, 2008, 4(4), 768-774.
Assessing the Impact of Hydrogels on Early Growth of Maize Grown in Sandy Regosols
T.S. Rasadaree, H.M.I.K. Hearath, H.T. Dedduwakumara, N. Kottegoda And T. Kuruwita- Mudiyanselage, Proceedings of 18th Agricultural Research Symposium (2019) 612-616
Mechanical Properties of Double Network Poly (Acrylic Acid) Based Hydrogels for Potential Use as a Biomaterial, Ruwan Udayanandana, Pujitha Silva and Thilini K Mudiyanselage, The IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society 41st International Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC 2019), Berlin, Germany, 24th July 2019.
Compression Fatigue and Stress Relaxation Properties of Single Network Polyacrylamide Hydrogels., Ruwan Udayanandana, Pujitha Silva and Thilini Gunasekara, Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon), Moratuwa, Sri Lanka,4th July 2019.
Hydrogel Based Material for Diabetic Insole. Ruwan Udayanandana, Pujith Silva, Thilini Gunasekara, Supun Sankapla, 8th World Congress of Biomechanics, Dublin, Ireland, 12th July 2018
Awards :
- SUSRED award 2019
- McMaster Junior Fellow, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA. 2006-2008
- McMaster Outstanding Doctorial Fellow, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA. 2006
- McMaster Academic Fellow, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA. 2005