User:Tilak Gamage/sandbox



Tilak Priyadarshana Dodampe Gamage, Professor in Limnology and Water Technology, former Dean (2008 - 2014) of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology, University of Ruhuna. Professor Tilak Gamage received his primary and secondary education from St Aloysius College Galle. He completed his school education in 1985 and entered the university in 1987. During his days at the school, he was a member of the College Debating Team, member of the College Badminton Team and a member College Boy's Scouting. Tilak Gamage obtained his first degree from the University of Ruhuna in 1992 and Master's in 1996. In 1996 he entered to the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Japan to pursue a PhD Degree. He was awarded a PhD Degree in Environmental Engineering in the year 2000. Considering his excellent research on experimental analysis, he was awarded the Best Research by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers Tokyo, Japan, in 2000. After serving the Saitama University as an Invited Research Fellow for a one year period Professor Tilak Gamage returned to Sri Lanka in 2001 and joined the Faculty of Science of University of Ruhuna as a Senior Lecturer. In 2004 he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Fisheries and Nautical Engineering (NIFNE), Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 2004, he received a reputed postdoctoral fellowship from the Japan Society for Promotion of Science, commonly known as JSPS. His research during this period was selected for a documentary film as an episode of a series of programme on “No Border for Science” telecasted by the Science Chanel of Japan. During this period he was able to establish a link between Saitama University and University of Ruhuna with the aim of collaborative research and academic exchange between the two universities. By this time there are more than ten students who have obtained their postgraduate qualification through this link programme. Also, he was the Project Director of the Ruhuna University Township Development Project and the Chairman of the Sports Advisory Board of the University of Ruhuna.

Professor Tilak Gamage has received several research grants and travel grants. Research grants from Saitama University in 2009, 2011 and 2013, Council for Agricultural Research Policy (CARP) in 2011, University of Ruhuna Internationalization Grant in 2011, National Research Council (NRC) in 2012 are some of them. Among the notable travel grants, he has got the opportunity, visit Max Planck Institute for Limnology, Plön, Germany; research facilities of the University of Nordland (UiN), Bodo, Norway; South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Guangzhou, China; Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan; National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore; Fukuoka University, Fukuoko, Japan, KLCC Aquarium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In 2011 he received a postgraduate diploma in ‘International Environmental Law’ from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Switzerland. Also, he has authored several book chapters for the Encyclopedia of Life Support System (EOLSS), Oxford, UK and Entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka: A Handbook published by Shaker Verlag GmbH, Germany. He serves as a permanent reviewer for the Journal of Wetland Ecology and Management published by Springer UK.

Professor Tilak Gamage is a member of the Alumni of Japan Society for Promotion of Sciences (JSPS), a member of the Alumni of Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), Japan, and a Life Member of Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS), Sri Lanka.

Professor Tilak Gamage's professional and academic career has taken him to the zenith of his profession locally and internationally. He is an excellent academic and internationally recognized expert in hydrology and an eminent limnologist, who has made an excellent contribution to his field of study. He is also an excellent academic administrator who has given a tremendous service to the country in his capacity.