Department of Civil Engineering

Dr. S.K.Navaratnarajah

Senior Lecturer


Office Address:

Department of Civil Engineering,

University of Peradeniya,

Peradeniya,20400,

Sri Lanka.

navask@eng.pdn.ac.lk

+94-81-2393519

  • PhD : University of Wollongong, Australia (2017)
  • M.S : University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA (2006)
  • BScEng (First Class Honours): University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (2001)
  • Registered Professional Engineer (P.E., Civil), State of California, USA.
  • Engineer In Training (EIT) Certification, State of Oklahoma, USA.
  • Certificate of National WHS general construction induction training, NSW, Australia
  • Certificate of Completion: 40 hrs Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, First Responder (Operational Level) Training
  • 2017 – To date: Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
  • 2012 – 2017: Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
  • 2011 – 2012: NRW Engineer, Greater Kandy Water Supply Project, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Katugastota, Sri Lanka.
  • 2008 – 2011: Project Engineer, Group Delta Consultants Inc., Irvine, California, USA.
  • 2006 – 2008: Staff Engineer, Group Delta Consultants Inc., Irvine, California, USA.
  • 2004 – 2006: Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
  • 2002 – 2003: Engineering Teaching Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
  • Member, the Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka
  • Member of Chi Epsilon Honor Society, University of Oklahoma, USA


    PhD Thesis (University of Wollongong, Australia)
  • Application of Rubber Inclusions to Enhance the Stability of Ballasted Rail Track under Cyclic Loading Prinicipal Supervisor: Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna

    • M.S. Thesis (University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA)
  • Performance characteristics of selected asphalt mixes: a laboratory and field study Principal Supervisor: Professor Musharraf Zaman

    • Journal Articles:
  • Navaratnarajah, S. K., and Indraratna, B. (2017). "Use of Rubber Mats to Improve the Deformation and Degradation Behavior of Rail Ballast under Cyclic Loading." Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 04017015 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001669
  • Navaratnarajah, S. K., Indraratna, B., and Ngo, T. " Influence of Under Sleeper Pads on Ballast Behavior under Cyclic Loading – Experimental and Numerical Studies" Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE (under review)
  • Navaratnarajah, S. K., Indraratna, B., and Nimbalkar, S. (2016). "Application of Shock Mats in Rail Track Foundation Subjected to Dynamic Loads." Procedia Engineering, 143, 1108-1119.
  • Indraratna, B., Navaratnarajah, S. K., Nimbalkar, S., and Rujikiatkamjorn, C. (2014). "Use of shock mats for enhanced stability of railroad track foundation." Australian Geomechanics Journal, Special Edition: ARC Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, 49(4), 101-111.
  • Indraratna, B., Nimbalkar, S., Navaratnarajah, S. K., Rujikiatkamjorn, C., and Neville, T. (2014). "Use of shock mats for mitigating degradation of railroad ballast." Sri Lankan geotechnical journal - Special issue on ground improvement, 6(1), 32-41.

    • Conference Papers:
  • Indraratna, B., Ngo, N. T., Rujikiatkamjorn, C., Navaratnarajah, S. K., and Sun, Q. (2018). "Two decades of Advancement in Process Simulation Testing of Ballast - Strength, Deformation, and Degradation." Symposium on Railroad Ballast Testing and Properties, New Orleans, LA, USA (accepted as an invited paper).
  • Navaratnarajah, S. K., Indraratna, B., and Neville, T. (2016). "Performance Improvement of Rail Track Structure using Artificial Inclusions–Experimental and Field Studies." Workshop 1: Geosynthetics in Transportation Geotechnics at the 3rd Int. Conference on Transportation Geotechnics, Guimarães, Portugal, 15-16.
  • Indraratna, B., Navaratnarajah, S. K., Nimbalkar, S., Rujikiatkamjorn, C., and Neville, T. (2015). "Performance monitoring - case studies of tracks stabilised by geosynthetic grids and prefabricated vertical drains." Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium on Field Measurements in Geomechanics, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Sydney, Australia, 233-246.
  • Navaratnarajah, S. K., Indraratna, B., and Nimbalkar, S. (2015). "Performance of rail ballast stabilized with resilient rubber pads under cyclic and impact loading." Proceedings of the International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering,Colombo, Sri Lanka, 617-620.

    • Reports:
  • Wasiuddin, N., Zaman, M., Nairn, R. W., Navaratnarajah, S. K., Teredesai, R. V., and Brunsman, A. (2009). "Maximum Chat Utilization in Asphalt Paving At the Tar Creek Superfund Site–Test Road." Final Report Submitted to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
  • Navaratnarajah, S.K., Zaman, M. and Khoury, N.N. (2006) “Resilient Modulus of Asphalt Concrete and its Correlation with APA Rut”, Final Report submitted to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA

    • Editor:
  • Indraratna, B., Kulathilaka, A., and Navaratnarajah, S.K.(Eds.)(2014). "Sri Lankan Geotechnical Journal - Special Issue on Ground Improvement." Sri Lankan Geotechnical Society, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Vol 6, No. 1.
  • Examiners' Commendation for Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Wollongong, Australia - 2017
  • Winner of the Engineering Excellence Award by the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL), NSW Australia Chapter - 2016 http://www.iesl.lk/page-1858156/4092745
  • Winner of the Travel Scholarship award by the Global Challenges Program for PhD video challenge, University of Wollongong – 2016 Video: https://vimeo.com/144072832 Travel Blog: http://www.uowblogs.com/globalchallenges/2016/10/21/post-card-from-portugal/
  • Winner of the 3 Minute thesis competition at the School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong - 2015
  • Winner of the People’s Choice award, 3 Minute thesis competition at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong - 2015
  • Winner of the People’s Choice Award,3 Minute thesis competition at the annual meeting of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering (CGSE) – 2014
  • ARC Discovery scholarship for PhD study at the University of Wollongong, Australia (2013).
  • “Kailas J. & Becky L. Rao” award for Graduate Students of the year 2006 for good academic standing and active and voluntary participation in extracurricular activities, University of Oklahoma, USA.
  • “Cleo Cross International Student” awards for Graduate Students of the year 2006 for good academic standing and active and voluntary participation in extracurricular activities, University of Oklahoma, USA.
  • University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) scholarship for M.S. study, University of Oklahoma, USA (2004-2006)
  • “Indian High Commission Scholarship” and “Mahapola Scholarship” for Higher Education in Sri Lanka, University of Peradeniya for the Academic Year 1997-2001.
  • Committee member, Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka, NSW chapter, Australia (2014/2015)
  • Secretary, Civil Engineering Society, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (2012/2013)
  • President, Sri Lankan Student Association (SLSA), University of Oklahoma, USA (2005/2006)



Department of Civil Engineering