didn't attend any lecture after the first semester. Even in the first semester, I went for lectures
because I didn't want to be in the Akbar and catch pneumonia. I skipped lectures because I
didn't understand most of what was said in the lecture. When in a lecture, when something
that I could not understand was said, I would go on a tangent thinking about it and by the
time I tried to figure it out, the lecturer usually has gone 1000 miles away and would even
have erased the board twice, making me completely lost. (smiles). Even though students
don't like learning by themselves because the workload is too high, it is the best and only
method that should be followed.
11. There are three main paths after graduating; move into academics, become an
entrepreneur or become employed. Which path should an engineering degree focus?
It is my view that the degree should focus on all 3 aspects. With a sizable student population
as in our faculty, everyone cannot focus on becoming entrepreneurs. For each path, there
are specific skills that are needed. Even for entrepreneurs, technically competent engineers
are needed to succeed. In the past, we have concentrated on producing engineers for a given
fixed job market or employment. This is not satisfactory. We should at least encourage those
who have demonstrated the talent and capabilities to become entrepreneurs. It is not an
easy or well-defined path, but we should continuously encourage them. We should try to
guide entrepreneurs after graduation. A curriculum with great diversity should be introduced
instead of the curriculum we currently have where everyone is tightly controlled within a
given specialization field. By granting this freedom, students will become multidisciplinary,
which is a quality that is lacking within the faculty and country.
12. What are your research interests?
My interest was focused on trying to apply the ideas of differential geometry to controls and
robotics. Well, differential geometry is one of the tools that is very helpful in understanding
physics. Around 2009 I started to learn physics from the beginning using the language of
differential geometry. While I was doing that, I got the opportunity to work on some nanoscale
thermal transport modelling stuff. Lately, I have developed an interest in Machine Learning.
Now I am also trying to do some modelling of wind and wave energy using stochastic
differential equations. So that is basically my research interest in a nutshell.
13. We heard that one of your current research interests is on developing a stability
algorithm for quadcopters. We would like to hear about it from you.
Like I said, I was involved in applying differential geometric techniques for controls. Therefore,
I was working on rigid body control for a long time, and all of it was theoretical and simulation
verifications. But somewhere around 2011, I met the CEO of CodeGen Dr. Harsha Subasinghe,
and he asked me “What are you doing for this country? For this economy? For the people?”
Until then, I thought that I was doing a big service to the people of this country by being
engaged in teaching and research at the University. Furthermore, he asked, “How good is it, if
that is not going to produce a single rupee inside this country”. What he meant was that we
must positively contribute to the economy, and to the export market. Then he talked about
the products that I can come up with and I told about the areas I have been working on, and
that maybe I can try to implement it on quadrotors. At that time there was only one open
source platform and there was DJI. I thought that we can do better and we have actually been
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University of Peradeniya GAUGE Magazine