EDUCATION

HONORS, FUNDING AND AWARDS

The team leader of a research collaboration between the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford
and Moratuwa, and Access Engineering PLC to “Introduce Fibre Optic Monitoring
technology to Sri Lanka.”

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The field sensor deployment (Baildon Bridge Scour Monitoring Project) of the PhD project
was nominated for the Digital Initiative of the Year at the prestigious BCI awards, alongside
the projects from some of the largest conglomerates in the world.

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This nomination recognizes the “novel vibration-based scour monitoring technique”
developed as part of the PhD project

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The monitoring technique developed in the PhD project was among the four finalists
in the Asset Condition Monitoring category

NewCivilEngineer , The Engineer , ASCE SmartBrief

Gates Cambridge Scholarship to read for a PhD at University of Cambridge, UK
(worth approx. USD 190,000)
Founded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the most prestigious
graduate scholarships in the world with an acceptance rate of below 1%

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Co-applicant of the secured £24,000 CSIC seed funding for Scour Monitoring
at Baildon Bridge

To recognize publications in high impact indexed journals

To recognize the best performance of the final year undergraduate design projects
at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa

To recognize the overall 3rd highest GPA in the Civil Engineering undergraduate
programme at University of Moratuwa

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

University of Moratuwa, Department of Civil Engineering, Sri Lanka Lecturer

2021 to date

Co-Lecturer for the following Modules:

  • Construction Technology, a 4th year undergraduate module averaging 45 students per semester, covering the topics: plant and equipment, concreting, underground construction, road and bridge construction, and smart construction. (70% involvement)
  • Quantitative Techniques and Research Methods, a master's module averaging 60 students per semester, covering the topics: descriptive and inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, primary and secondary data collection, structured and semi-structured interviews, the design and use of questionnaires, analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. (30% involvement)
  • Construction Management, a 3 rd year undergraduate module averaging 125 students, covering the topics: equipment management, construction quality and site management. (20% involvement)
  • Building Construction and Materials, a 2nd year undergraduate module averaging 125 students per semester, covering the topics: Introduction to building construction and building elements, building materials and construction methods, and alternative construction materials and methods. (30% involvement)
  • Sustainable Design and Construction, a 4th year undergraduate module averaging 40 students per semester, covering the topics: sustainable design, life cycle approach, thermal comfort and indoor air quality, and green building certification. (30% involvement)
  • Building Design Process and Applications, a 1 st year undergraduate module, averaging 40 students per semester, covering the topics, engineering drawing equipment, building design process, building regulations, computer aided drafting, sustainable concepts. (30% involvement)
  • Introduction to Conceptual Designs, an open-ended structural design module for 1 st and 2 nd year undergraduates, averaging 125 students per semester covering the topics, problem identification and definition, generating design and evaluating alternatives, selecting a design, model preparation and presentation. Co-developed this module. (20% involvement)

Developed formative and summative assessments,

e.g. in-class assignments, take-home assignments, viva-voce examinations, paper-based examinations.

Developed module descriptors focusing on outcome-based education and as per the accreditation requirements.

Took part in conducting online and physical examinations as a supervisor or an invigilator.

Coordinated grading and assignments with a team of 3 teaching assistants.

Subject Coordinator of three modules of the course, MSc in Construction Project Management:

Advanced methods in Building Construction, Road and Bridge Engineering, Building Services and Asset Management.

Student Supervision

  • A. Gowshikan, "Experimental analysis on the workmanship factors and performance of Fibre Optic Infrastructure Monitoring cables embedded in concrete structures" (Masters - ongoing)
  • N.Y. Janz, "Management of resources in wall construction with eco-bricks" (Masters – completed in 2021)
  • H.H. Senanayake, "An integrated framework to select building materials for construction" (Undergraduate – completed in 2021)
  • Co-supervising two Masters and eight undergraduate research projects on construction materials, asset management and Building Information Modelling (ongoing)
  • Co-supervising nine students on their final year undergraduate design project "Design of a multi-storey office building in Rathnapura" (ongoing)

University of Cambridge, UK Supervisor/Demonstrator, Department of Engineering

2016 to 2021

  • Supervised the Structures Module (1P2) for King's College students, averaging 8 students per semester, covering the fundamentals of Structural Engineering, e.g. free body diagrams, pin-jointed trusses, displacement diagrams, method of virtual work and buckling of columns
  • Assisted Constructionarium, a third-year module averaging 30 students, that gives students hands-on experience in constructing a small-scale version of a real-world structure during a construction camp.

University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka Lecturer (on-contract), Department of Civil Engineering

2015 to 2016

  • Assisted in undergraduate lectures, tutorials, and preparation of lecture notes and accreditation documents for the subjects; Building Construction and Materials (Semester 2), Comprehensive Design Project, Communication Skills Development, Building Engineering, Design of Large Structures and Sustainable Design & Construction subjects (Semesters 7-8).

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Research project lead: "Introduction of Fibre Optic Monitoring Technology to Sri Lanka" a collaborative project between Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Moratuwa and Access Engineering PLC

2021 to date

  • Project initiation, proposal development and securing of funding worth USD 100,000 after pitching to the industry
  • Negotiation and procurement of a Fibre Optic Monitoring analyzer and Reinforced Fibre Optic cables at concessional rates
  • Development of the experimental testbeds, splicing of the cables and carrying out the laboratory experiments to study the performance and workmanship factors

Research Associate: University of Cambridge, UK

2020 to 2021

  • Research work focused on satellite-based infrastructure monitoring and vibration-based bridge scour monitoring,
  • Co-authored a book chapter on innovative bridge monitoring

PhD Dissertation: "A vibration-based bridge scour monitoring technique" University of Cambridge, UK

2016 to 2020

Supervisor: Prof Campbell Middleton, Advisor: Dr James Talbot Collaborators: Prof Gopal Madabhushi, Dr Stuart Haigh, Jenny Roberts and Paul Fidler

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  • Introduced two vibration-based scour monitoring indicators for the first time in the world
  • Conducted the first successful UK field demonstration of vibration-based scour monitoring techniques
  • Carried out the first-ever centrifuge experiment in the world on vibration-based bridge scour monitoring
  • Secured funding of USD 31,000 through a competitive funding call from CSIC
  • The study was featured in news and was nominated for prestigious awards
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  • Defended the dissertation with minor corrections from a renowned panel: Prof Hugh Hunt from Cambridge University and Prof Ken Gavin from TU Delft.

Undergraduate Dissertation: "Estimation of fatigue life of steel masts using Finite Element Modelling", University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

2014 to 2015

  • Coupled Abaqus and Fe-Safe software to estimate low-cycle fatigue life of steel elements and validated it against experimental data in the literature
  • Analyzed on the fatigue life of the steel mast of the tallest tower in South Asia

PUBLICATIONS

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Book Chapters

  • Gowshikan, A., Kariyawasam, K., Xu, X., Kechavarzi, C., Battista, N., Ferdinando, N., Acikgoz. S., Gunawardana, N.D. and Ranasinghe, M. (2022) "A review on the advances in distributed fibre optic sensing technology for structural health monitoring," in Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering. Springer (accepted).
  • Vardanega, P., Webb, G., Fidler, P., Huseynov, H., Kariyawasam, K. and Middleton, C. (2021) "Bridge monitoring," in Innovative bridge design handbook. 2nd edn. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Journal Publications

  • Kariyawasam, K., Middleton, C., Madabhushi, G., Haigh, S. and Talbot, J. P. (2020) "Assessment of bridge natural frequency as an indicator of scour using centrifuge modelling," Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, 10, pp. 861–881. doi: 10.1007/s13349-020- 00420-5.
  • Jayasinghe, M. T. R., Jayasinghe, C., Kariyawasam, K. K. G. K. D. and de Silva, L. I. N. (2018) "Semi-tiered housing for laterite earth sloping lands - a sustainable solution with alternative materials and methods," Journal of Green Building, 13(1), pp. 56–72.
  • Kariyawasam, K. K. G. K. D. and Jayasinghe, C. (2016) "Cement stabilized rammed earth as a sustainable construction material," Construction and Building Materials, 105, pp. 519–527. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.12.189.
  • Note: four more papers to be sent to journals are currently under preparation/review, an update can be given at the time of the interview.

Conference Papers

  • Peer-Reviewed
  • Kariyawasam, K., Middleton, C., Talbot, J., Fidler, P., Haigh, S., Roberts, J. and Madabhushi, G. (2021) "On the potential for using bridge natural frequencies to detect scour: an experimental study," in IABSE Congress – Resilient technologies for sustainable infrastructure. Christchurch, New Zealand: IABSE.
  • Kariyawasam, K., Fidler, P., Talbot, J. and Middleton, C. (2019a) "Field assessment of ambient vibration-based bridge scour detection," in Structural Health Monitoring. Stanford, CA, USA, pp. 374–381. doi: 10.12783/shm2019/32137.
  • Kariyawasam, K., Fidler, P., Talbot, J. and Middleton, C. (2019b) "Field deployment of an ambient vibration-based scour monitoring system at Baildon Bridge, UK," in Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction. Cambridge, UK: ICE UK, pp. 711–719. doi: 10.1680/icsic.64669.711.
  • Jayasinghe, M. T. R., Kariyawasam, K. K. G. K. D. and Jayasinghe, C. (2016) "Cost Effective Building Systems for Rapid Construction in Tropical Climates," in 7 th International conference on sustainable built environment, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
  • Kariyawasam, K. K. G. K. D., Jayasinghe, M. T. R. and Jayasinghe, C. (2015) "Strategies for Planning Mould Free Air Conditioned Buildings in Tropical Climates," 6 th International Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction Management, Kandy, Sri Lanka. pp. 163–171. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1756.4248.
  • Kariyawasam, K. K. G. K. D. and Mallikarachchi, H. M. Y. C. (2015) "Simulation of Low Cycle Fatigue with Abaqus / FEA," in ACEPS, Galle, Sri Lanka. pp. 368–375. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4041.0963.
  • Abstract-Reviewed
  • Senanayake, H. H., Jayasinghe, C. and Kariyawasam, K. K. G. K. D. (2021) "An integrated framework to select building materials for construction projects in Sri Lanka," in Civil Engineering Symposium. Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
  • Kariyawasam, K., Middleton, C., Madabhushi, G., Haigh, S. and Talbot, J. (2020) "Natural frequency as an indicator of bridge scour," in Virtual Poster Session - CSIC Distinguished Lecture. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction.
  • Kariyawasam, K. and Mallikarachchi, C. (2015) "Estimation of fatigue lives of steel masts using Finite Element Modelling," in International Conference on Structural Engineering. SSESL, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

PRESENTATIONS

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