About me
I am currently a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) at Duke University with the research group of Dr. Volker Blum.
Previosly, I was a Ph.D. candidate in Computational Materials Science in the research group of Dr. Aldo Romero at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University. I did my undergraduate studies at the Department of Physics-Faculty of Science at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka where I received my Bachelor’s in Physics with a minor in Mathematics.
I was born in the tropical island of Sri Lanka. My family moved to the US when I was about three years old so I grew up in Lincoln, NE until we moved back to Sri Lanka. Growing up I always admired science and its ability to explain how the universe works. In high school, this led me to taking Physics, Pure and Applied Math and Chemistry for the G.C.E. Advanced Level examinations. I also started learning programming which I found intriguing. It was this fascination that later inspired me to do research in computational physics in grad school. During my undergraduate degree I was involved in a variety of extra curricular activities including the Physics Society, the Astronomy Society, the Ceylon Drama Society and charity organizations. During graduate school, I was a member of PAGSO (Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Organization) in which I was involved in physics outreach programs. As a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University, I am a council member of the Duke Postdoctoral Association (DUPA) where I serve in the Social Committee where I help organize events to bring postdocs from different walks together.
I love being outdoors, especially going on hiking, backpacking and camping trips. Having lived in the Wild and Wonderful state of West Virginia, I was able to enjoy its abundance of rivers and hiking trails that lead to overlooks with majestic views of the Appalacian mountain range. Now I live in North Carolina, which is an equally beautiful location. In my spare time, I also like reading- check out my goodreads page. I play video games too (Witcher 3 is one the best games ever made!). As for sports I’m a fan of cricket and rugby. More recently, I am attempting to become better at stand-up paddleboarding.