Prof. B.M.N.W.B. Balasooriya is a distinguished geologist and academic, currently serving as the Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Science (PGIS), University of Peradeniya. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of Peradeniya, an M.Phil. from PGIS, and a Ph.D. from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France.

His research expertise spans mineralogy, economic geology, and advanced applications of Sri Lankan vein graphite, including graphite intercalation compounds, nanocomposites, and lithium-ion battery materials. He has made significant contributions to scientific research, including innovations and patents in graphite-related technologies.

Prof. Balasooriya has held several key academic and administrative positions, including Acting Head of the Department of Geology, Chairman of the Board of Study in Earth Sciences at PGIS, and Director of the Internal Quality Assurance Unit at the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka. He has also contributed to national development through his involvement with institutions such as Kahatagaha Graphite Lanka Ltd. and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau. In recognition of his contributions, he has received multiple prestigious awards, including the Presidential Awards for Scientific Research and the P.G. Cooray Medal for Young Geoscientists.

A dedicated and accomplished professional, Prof. Balasooriya continues to play a vital role in advancing geoscience research and postgraduate education in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Deepesh Jayasekara is a Research Associate and a Lead Researcher at the Global Supply Chain Observatory (GSCO), Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge. His areas of interest include critical mineral supply chain digitalisation, cloud manufacturing adoption, and science-based policy development for industrial resilience. He received his PhD from the University of Nottingham for work examining the readiness of aerospace composite manufacturing industries for Cloud Manufacturing-as-a-Service transformation. 

Deepesh’s international research experience includes roles at the at Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Technology, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and both the Composite Research Group, and the Advanced Energy Environmental Materials & Technologies Research Group at the University of Nottingham. Prior to his PhD, he worked as a University lecturer in Material Science and Automotive Engineering at the Colombo International Nautical and Engineering College, Sri Lanka.

An active contributor to academia, Deepesh has spoken at numerous international conferences, intergovernmental meetings, workshops and has published in leading journals such as the Journal of Manufacturing Systems (IF 14.2). His work has also appeared at IEEE, POMS and other international conferences in countries including the UK, USA, Australia, India, and France. He is also a co-author in Advances of Digital Manufacturing Systems, published by Springer Nature. His work has been recognised with several international awards including multiple Nottingham Scholar awards and Ningbo Government Scholarship. Deepesh has shared his expertise on high-level policy platforms, including serving as an invited panelist on critical minerals at the Royal Society in London and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) at the UK Houses of Parliament representing GSCO. He is also a TEDx speaker.  

Prof. Kehelpannala is a structural geologist with over three decades of contributions to the advancement of geological sciences in Sri Lanka, Africa, and the broader Gondwana research community. A Magna Cum Laude Ph.D. graduate from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany, and a former Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Peradeniya (1994–2011), he later served at the University of Botswana, Botswana, from 2011 to 2024, and as a Part-time Associate Professor at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (2021–2023).

His landmark scientific achievements include the discovery of a Neoproterozoic plate boundary in Sri Lanka, early prediction of Indian Ocean tsunami hazards, proposing a mantle origin for Sri Lankan vein graphite, and identifying post-metamorphic K-metasomatism in both Sri Lanka and Botswana. Prof. Kehelpannala’s academic and research excellence has been recognized through several prestigious honors, including the Ananda Coomaraswamy Memorial Medal (2015)—the highest lifetime recognition awarded by the Geological Society of Sri Lanka—and two Sri Lanka Presidential Research Awards for his scientific contributions. He has co-authored a book on “Atlas of deformed and metamorphosed rocks from Proterozoic Orogens” published by Elsevier.

Prof. Kehelpannala holds long-standing memberships in leading professional bodies worldwide, including the International Association for Gondwana Research (IAGR), where he has been serving on the Steering Committee since 1997, the Institute of Geology, Sri Lanka, the Botswana Academy of Science, and multiple geoscience associations across Asia and Africa. He has also contributed significantly to national scientific leadership in Sri Lanka, serving as President of the Geological Society of Sri Lanka (2004–2005), Chairman of the Tsunami Disaster Committee, and a member of national committees on mineral policy and disaster management.

View the Virtual Talk: The Origin and Distribution of the Sri Lankan-type Vein and its Relation to High-Grade Metamorphism and Deformation of the Country Rocks. 

Professor Sanjeewa P. K. Malaviarachchi graduated from the University of Peradeniya in 2001 with a BSc (Special) in Geology and briefly served as a Temporary Demonstrator in the Department of Geology. During this period, he also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Oceanography at the Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya in 2002.

He later received a Japanese Government Scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in Japan, obtaining an MSc in Metamorphic Petrology from Shimane University (2003–2005) and a PhD in Petrology and Isotope Geochemistry from Okayama University (2005–2008). Following his doctorate, he worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Okayama University and was subsequently awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Fellowship to conduct research at the Australian National University, Canberra (2009–2010).

In 2011, he joined the Department of Geology, University of Peradeniya, as a Senior Lecturer. He later received a fellowship to serve as an Assistant Professor at Niigata University, Japan, in 2017, and has since been promoted to the position of Professor of Geology.

View the Virtual Talk: Genetically Diverse but Tectonically Unified Graphite Occurrences in the Gondwana Supercontinent

Himashee Naranpanawa is a Research Assistant in the Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials research programme at the National Institute of Fundamental Studies (NIFS), Sri Lanka. She holds a B.Sc. in Mineral Resources and Technology from Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka and is currently pursuing her M.Phil. at the Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya.

Since joining NIFS in 2018, her research has focused on the purification and surface modification of Sri Lankan natural vein graphite for lithium-ion battery applications, contributing to the advancement of value-added mineral technologies. Her research interests encompass mineral processing, nanotechnology for mineral value addition, battery material development, mineralogy, and petrology. She has also contributed to collaborative research and scientific dissemination within the nanotechnology and advanced materials domain in Sri Lanka.

A dedicated and emerging researcher, Himashee continues to contribute to the development of sustainable, high-value applications of Sri Lanka’s mineral resources through innovative materials research.

Prof. H.M.T.G.A. Pitawala is a Senior Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, with over three decades of experience in geological research, education, and mineral resource development. He holds a Ph.D. from Johannes Gutenberg University and the Max Planck Institute, Germany, specializing in carbonatite petrogenesis.

He is a prolific and widely cited researcher with more than 140 publications in leading international journals. His research spans groundwater geochemistry, carbonatite and phosphate deposits, pegmatite petrogenesis, sediment geochemistry, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and the industrial utilization of Sri Lanka’s mineral resources. His work has made significant contributions to both fundamental geoscience and applied mineral development.

A central pillar of his research is Sri Lankan vein graphite, where he has made sustained and impactful contributions spanning from genesis to advanced applications. His studies have advanced understanding of graphite formation through carbon-rich fluid activity, structural controls, crystal morphology, wall-rock alteration, and mineralization processes, providing key insights into the origin of some of the world’s highest-grade natural graphite deposits.

Building on this geological foundation, his research extends to innovative processing and value addition, including chemical-free flotation, acid leaching, and microwave-assisted modification techniques. He has contributed to the development of advanced graphite-based materials such as graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, intercalation compounds, and electrode materials for supercapacitors, dye-sensitized solar cells, and lithium-ion batteries, highlighting the strategic importance of Sri Lankan graphite in clean energy technologies and critical mineral supply chains.

Prof. Pitawala has established strong international collaborations and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka. He is a recipient of the Ananda Coomaraswamy Medal for outstanding contributions to geology.

Professor R. M. Gamini Rajapakse is a Senior Professor of Chemistry and Nanotechnology at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, with an eminent academic career spanning more than four decades. He received his Ph.D. and D.I.C. from Imperial College London and completed advanced postdoctoral research in photoelectrochemistry under the mentorship of the late Prof. W. John Albery at Oxford University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), UK, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka (NASSL).

Prof. Rajapakse is one of Sri Lanka’s most prolific and influential scientists, with over 150 indexed publications, an h-index of 38, five granted international patents, and several additional patent applications under evaluation. His research spans materials chemistry, nanotechnology, environmental remediation, advanced membranes, and green functional materials.

A major focus of his work is the conversion of Sri Lankan mineral resources into high-value nanomaterials, strengthening the link between natural resources and industrial innovation. His group has pioneered significant advancements in processing Sri Lankan vein graphite, developing efficient and scalable routes to synthesize expanded graphite, few-layer graphene, graphene oxide, graphene nanoplatelets, and graphene-based nanocomposites. These value-added graphene products are now being explored for applications in energy storage (battery and supercapacitor electrodes), EMI shielding, smart coatings, lubricants, advanced polymer composites, sensing devices, and high-performance filtration membranes.

Beyond graphite, his team has developed technologies for converting other local minerals—such as apatite, ilmenite, zircon, and quartz—into advanced nanomaterials for applications in water purification, photovoltaics, catalysis, bio-composites, and biomedical engineering. His broader research contributions include clay–conducting polymer nanocomposites, hydroxyapatite-modified nanofiltration membranes, natural-fiber automotive composites, sustainable biomaterials, and nanomedicine.

Prof. Rajapakse leads numerous international collaborations across Asia, Europe, and Australia and has supervised large numbers of undergraduate, M.Phil., and Ph.D. students. His vision is firmly centered on transforming Sri Lanka’s natural resources into globally competitive technologies, advancing academia–industry partnerships, and building long-term scientific capacity for sustainable economic development.

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Dr. Shehan de Silva is a scientist and engineer specializing in nanotechnology, materials science, and electronics R&D. He is the Founder and Chief Scientist of the United Science Organization, leading advanced research initiatives that bridge cutting-edge science with commercial and environmental applications.

With over 15 years of experience in carbon-based materials, including carbon nanotubes and graphene, Dr. de Silva has contributed extensively to the development of graphene applications, functional coatings, composite materials, and motor efficiency technologies. His work also spans IoT-enabled process systems and scientific knowledge platforms, integrating innovation with scalable industrial solutions.

A key milestone in his career was the development of Sri Lanka’s first Near Atmospheric Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) system at SLINTEC, enabling advanced surface functionalisation techniques for improved material performance. Dr. de Silva has also held leadership roles in industry, notably as Director of Research and Development at the Jinasena Group, where he has driven innovation in materials engineering, product development, and system integration.

Committed to climate-conscious innovation, his research focuses on developing sustainable and scalable green technologies. He holds a PhD in Nano Electronics and a BEng from the University of Surrey, UK.

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Mr. Hemalal Panagoda is a chartered Mining Engineer (CMin, UK and SL). He holds a MSc. (Hons) in mining engineering and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IMMM) and member of the Institution of Engineers (MIE) in Sri Lanka. Mr. Pangoda is a former Senior Lectuerer in Mining Engineering at University of Moratuwa (1991-1996 & 2010-2021),  former general manager at Lanka Phosphate Ltd. (1996 – 2009), consultant to the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (2018-2019), and senior mining engineer at Bogala Graphite Mines (1980-1991). He currently is Chairman of Kahatagaha Graphite Lanka Ltd. (State Company).

View the Talk:  Strategic Leadership and Sustainable Development of Sri Lanka’s Vein Graphite Resources