Dr. Meththika Vithanage

BSc. (Hons)(SAB), MSc. (Hons) (UoP), PhD.
Currently the founder and the director of the research center and a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

Former Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute of Fundamental Studies in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Further, she is an Adjunct Associate Research Professor at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Her research is focused on the application of biochar and other low-cost materials to help clean up contaminated soils and water. Her work has yielded important findings for successful application in the fields of agriculture, solid waste management, and environmental pollution. She has received several awards from, TWAS-NSF Award for the Young Scientist, American Geophysical Union, Presidential Awards for Publications, Awards for science popularization and for postgraduate supervision by the National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka. She is a Young Affiliate of the Third World Academy of Sciences considering her contribution to science as a young scientist. She has contributed more than 80 journals Science Citation indexed articles and 20 book chapters.

Academic Qualifications

PhD in Hydrogeology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 2005/09

MSc in Environmental Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2003/05

BSc 2nd Class Upper Division, in Natural Resources, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, 1999/2002

Academic Distinctions, Awards, and Medals

  • Coordinating editor of the Environmental Geochemistry and Health Journal, IF: 076 (Springer Publication).
  • Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Young Affiliateship 2012-2017 – Central & South Asia Region.
  • Coordinator of the expert group for research and development investment framework on water by the Ministry of Technology and Research, Sri Lanka (2014).
  • Award for the supervision of MPhil students, 2012 – National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka.
  • Award for the supervision of MPhil students, 2011 – National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka.
  • American Geographical Union National Hazard Focus Group Award for Best graduate scientist (2009).
  • Presidential Awards for Research (2008).
  • Presidential Awards for Research (2007).
  • Reviewer for International and National Journals
  • Water Resource Management (IF – 054),
  • Environmental Science and Pollution Research (IF – 651),
  • Journal of Hazardous Materials (IF- 173),
  • Clean: Soil, Air, Water (IF – 177),
  • Journal of Chemical Engineering (IF – 681),
  • Environmental Chemistry Letters (IF – 1.881),
  • Journal of Hydrology (IF – 271),
  • Journal of Science of the Total Environment (IF – 182),
  • Journal of Groundwater (IF – 441),
  • Ceylon Journal of Sciences

Professional Experience

Adjunct Associate Research Professor, University of Southern Queensland, Australia (2016-2019)
Senior Research Fellow, National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka (2014 to 2017)
Visiting Faculty, University of Moratuwa (2017). MSc course in Environmental Engineering.
Visiting Faculty, The Open University of Sri Lanka (2017). MSc course in Waste Management and Recovery
Visiting Faculty, The Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka (2017). Course in Management
Visiting Faculty, Post Graduate Institute of Science (PGIS), University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (2016 to date). Water quality and Water pollution
Research Fellow, Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka (Aug. 2009 to 2014).
Visiting Research Scientist, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea (Oct. 2011-Dec. 2011 & Aug. 2012-Dec. 2012).
Visiting Faculty, Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture (PGIA), University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (Feb. 2011 to date). Analytical techniques in water quality, water quality parameters
Research Associate, Dept. of Geography and Geology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (Jan. 2008-April, 2008).
Research Associate, Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, USA (Oct. 2006-April, 2007).
PhD Fellow, Dept. of Geography and Geology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (Sep. 2005-Jan. 2008 and April, 2008-Dec, 2008).

Research Interest

  • Emerging Pollutant (EPs) for treatments of Wastewaters and leachate and Solid waste management and pollution remediation
  • Monitoring of and Modeling of three elements; soil, water and air for pollutants
  • Groundwater flow modeling, Variable density flow and solute transport modeling
  • Conducting physical experiments in sand tanks and columns, Field monitoring design and implementation for groundwater studies.
  • Novel Adsorbents development for remediation of EPs
  • Nanocomposites for Adsorption Studies

Publications: https://scholar.google.com