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Dr. Samal Dharmarathna

Senior Lecturer

Dr. W.R.S.S. Dharmarathna

Office Address:
Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Peradeniya,
Peradeniya, 20400, Sri Lanka.

Biography

Dr. Samal Dharmarathna is currently working as a Senior Lecturer (Grade II) at the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He received his BScEng (Hons) degree from the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya in 2007. Then he joined industry and worked one year each at CML – MTD Construction Ltd and Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka as a Project Engineer and Civil Engineer respectively. He earned his Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree from the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya in 2013. Upon completion, he worked as a Lecturer at International Training Institute of Irrigation & Water Management, Kothmale for a period of three years. In 2015 he entered the Department of Civil Engineering, the University of Tokyo, Japan and completed his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in 2018. His Ph.D. thesis title was “Comparative Analysis of Sequential Time Discount Rate in Differential Disastrous Networks”. After completion, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Transportation Research and Infrastructure Planning (TRIP) laboratory at the Department of Civil engineering, the University of Tokyo, Japan for a period of six months and returned Sri Lanka in April 2019.

  • 2018 – PhD, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
  • 2013 – MPhil, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
  • 2007 – BSc.Eng (Hons), University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
  • Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (CTHE), Induction Programme for Academic Staff – October to December 2021
  • Training: Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (Induction Program for Academic Staff) at Staff Development Center of university of Peradeniya during the period from October to December 2021
  • International Course on Transportation Planning and Road Safety, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New-Delhi, India, December 2019
  • Training: ISO 9001:2008 Standard, preparation of quality manual and internal auditing for ISO 9001:2008 quality management systems at Sri Lanka Standards Institution in November 2013
  • Training: Training of Trainers/Training Managers at Distance Learning Centre Ltd (DLC) in collaboration with Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources Management in April 2012
  • MEXT scholarship for reading Doctor of Philosophy degree from October 2015 to September 2018 by the government of Japan.
  • International Master Scholarship for reading Master of Philosophy degree from June 2009 to January 2012 by the United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan.
  • Life member of Alumni Association, University of Peradeniya (AAUP), Membership No: F/L/2152
  • Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CMILT), Membership No: 51403
  • Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) – Membership No: AM10011
  • Associate Engineer of the Engineering Council, Sri Lanka (ECSL) – 201353
  • Member of Peradeniya Engineering Faculty Alumni Association (PEFAA) – Membership No: 2972
  • Sep 2020 – Up to date: Senior Lecturer (Grade II) at the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya
  • June 2019 – Sep 2020 : Temporary lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
  • Oct 2018 – Mar 2019 : Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Civil Engineering, the University of Tokyo, Japan
  • May 2012 – Sep 2015 : Lecturer, International Training Institute of Irrigation & Water Management, Kothmale, Sri Lanka
  • Oct. 2007 – July 2008 : Civil Engineer, Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka
  • Feb. 2007 – Sep. 2007 : Project Engineer, A11 road project, CML – MTD Construction Ltd

Major Research areas:

  • Transportation Planning expertise in discrete choice modeling including mode choice and route choice
  • Driver behavior modeling
  • Behavior in Transportation Networks
  • Traffic Engineering

Minor Research areas:

  • Climate Change Adaptation
  • Weather Forecasting

Grant No. URG/2023/19/E

Undergraduate:

1.  Comparative analysis of Nested Logit (NL) and Multinomial Logit (MNL) modeling approaches for mode choice decisions   
2.  Mode choice parameter estimation for airport access by air passengers   
3.  Effects of Roadside Garages in smooth flow of Traffic   
4.  Machine Learning (ML) approach for mode choice modeling   
5.  Testing sensitivity and stability of Multinomial Logit (MNL) modeling approach for travelers’ mode choice parameter estimation   
6.  Effect of three-wheelers on urban traffic   
7.  Effects related to sand transporting trucks in Sri Lanka   
8.  A Discrete choice modeling approach for understanding the mode choice variability in Kandy city    

Postgraduate:

1.  A discrete choice modeling approach to find out the mode choice variability in Ampara District
2.  Study the pavement deterioration by Trees with in the black top and center-median area of class – A Roads in Batticaloa District and predict the future failures 
3.  Evaluating the combined impact of road-weather and driver demographics on drivers’ speed behavior 
4.  Study of traffic flow by evaluating Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE) of different vehicle categories at Expressways in Sri Lanka 
5.  Effectiveness of rumble strips in operational behaviors of drivers for different classes of vehicles  
6.  Validation of Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) model to estimate the delays in minor roads of unsignalized T – junctions in suburban areas under mixed traffic conditions 
CategoryPublications
Peer Reviewed Journal Papers
 
  • Lowe W.U.A., Herath P.M.G.D.M., Edirisinghe A.G.H.J., Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Vasantha Wickramasinghe, “Analysis of Network Features and Travel Characteristics for Enhancing Bus – Based Public Transport System – Case Study in Kandy, Sri Lanka”, Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.14, Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 2021, pp 1146-1157. https://doi.org/10.11175/easts.14.1146
 
 
  • Herath P.M.G.D.M., Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Wickramasinghe W.M.V.S.K., Edirisinghe A.G.H.J., “Travel Behaviour Analysis and Exploration of Mode Choice Variability of Short-Distance Travellers”, ENGINEER: Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, Vol. 56, Issue. 01, pp. [51-62], 2023, http://doi.org/10.4038/engineer.v56i1.7560

 
  • Jayarathne P. M., Kumari R. D. N. D., Dharmarathna W. R. S. S., Sathyaprasad I. M. S., “Improvement of an ADT Estimation Model Developed for A-Class Roads in Sri Lanka by Incorporating National Expressways and Important B-Class Links”, ICSBE 2020, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 174, Springer Nature, ISSN 2366-2565, ISBN 978-981-16-4412-2, pp 303-312. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4412-2_21

 
  • Herath P.M.G.D.M., Vasantha Wickramasinghe, Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Edirisinghe A.G.H.J., “Evaluation of Passenger Satisfaction Level for Enhancing Bus-Based Public Transport System – A Case Study in Kandy, Sri Lanka”, Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 2023 (Accepted)

 
  • Herath P.M.G.D.M., Wickramasinghe V., Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Edirisinghe A.G.H.J., “Estimating the Passenger Waiting Time for Public Buses in Rural Roads – A Case Study in Kandy District, Sri Lanka”, Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 2023 (Accepted)

 
  • Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Herath S. and Weerakoon S.B. “Changing the planting date as a climate change adaptation strategy for rice production in Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka”, International journal “Sustainability Science”, Springer, Japan, ISSN 1862-4065, Vol. 9, No. 1, Sustain Sci (2014) 9:103-111. DOI 10.1007/s11625-012-0192-2


Conference Papers
 
  • Herath P.M.G.D.M., Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Vasantha Wickramasinghe, Edirisinghe A.G.H.J., “Mode Choice Behavior of Commuters in Kandy, Sri Lanka”, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Research for Transport and Logistics Industry (R4TLI), Sri Lanka Society of Transport and Logistics, August 2023, ISSN: 2513-2504
 
 
  • Rupasingha, W. A. M. J., and Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., “Validation of HCM model to estimate the delays in minor roads of unsignalized T – junctions in suburban areas under mixed traffic conditions”, Proceedings of the IESL Young Members Technical Conference 2021, ISBN 978-624-5810-02-4, pp 127-131

 
  • Adheeb M.I.M.M.H., Ilahi A.M.A., and Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., “Discrete Choice Modeling Approach for Understanding the Mode Choice Variability”, Proceedings of the IESL Young Members Technical Conference 2021, ISBN 978-624-5810-02-4, pp 132-136

 
  • Thalgaskotuwa D.H.M.K.S., Ranasinghe A.S.P., Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Sathyaprasad I.M.S., “Optimization of junction performance at Peradeniya compound junction: An application of VISSIM”, Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Sustainable Built Environment (ICSBE 2020), Dec 2020, Kandy, Sri Lanka, pp 191-202

 
  • Kumari R.D.N.D., Jayarathne P. M., Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Sathyaprasad I.M.S., “A Comparative Study of ADT Estimation Models Developed for Sri Lankan Road Network”, Proceedings of the IESL Young Members Technical Conference 2021, ISBN 978-624-5810-02-4, pp 137 – 141

 
  • Tharamasinghe A.I., Jayasooriya J.A.D.G., Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Edirisinghe A.G.H.J., “A Study on Impact of Three-wheelers in Urban Traffic Congestion”, Proceedings of the IESL Young Members Technical Conference 2021, ISBN 978-624-5810-02-4, pp 168 – 174

 
  • Lakmini W.D., Jayasena I.C.S., Dharmarathna W.R.S.S. and Jayasinghe U., “Machine Learning Approach for Modeling Mode Choice Decisions of Sri Lankan Travellers”, Accepted for the proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Sustainable Built Environment (ICSBE 2023), Dec 2023, Kandy, Sri Lanka

 
  • Dharmarathna W.R.S.S. and Eiji Hato, “Comparison of sequential time discount rate in differential disastrous networks”, Proceedings of Transportation Research Board (TRB) 97th Annual Meeting, 07th – 11th January 2018, Washington D.C., USA

 
  • Dharmarathna W.R.S.S. and Eiji Hato, “Route choice behavior under extreme weather events in densified networks: a case study in Tokyo under torrential downpour”, Proceedings of 15th Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) symposium, 07th – 08th December 2017, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.20780.31366

 
  • Dharmarathna W.R.S.S. and Eiji Hato, “Unsteady Travel Behavior in Major and Minor Scale Disasters”, Proceedings of infrastructure planning, The 56th Civil Engineering studies research presentation, Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), 03rd – 05th November 2017, Iwate University, Japan

 
  • Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Weerakoon S.B., Herath S., Rathnayake U.R. and Weerakoon W.M.W. “Application of Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) model to optimize irrigated paddy cultivation under changing hydro-climate”, Technical papers, Annual Transactions of IESL, Vol. I, Part B, pp 207-211, 24th October 2011, the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka

 
  • Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Weerakoon S.B., Rathnayake U.R. and Herath S. “Testing Suitability of DSSAT for Rice Varieties Grown in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka”, Proceedings of the 5th UN-CECAR conference on Disaster Risk Management & Sustainability, 15th November 2011, United Nations University Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan

 
  • Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Weerakoon S.B., and Srikantha Herath “Analyzing Weather Patterns under the Climate Change Impacts in Kurunegala District”, Sri Lanka water convention 2013, National conference to mark the world water day, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp 26-31, 21st March 2013

 
  • Dharmarathna W.R.S.S., Weerakoon S.B., Rathnayake U.R. and Herath S. “Variation of irrigated rice yield under the climate change scenarios”, Proceedings of the SAITM Second Research Symposium on Engineering Advancements, pp 31-34, 27-28 April 2012, South Asian Institute of Technology & Medicine (SAITM), Malabe, Sri Lanka
 

Reviewer:

1.      Transportation Engineering (journal) 
2.      Journal of South Asian Logistics and Transport
3.      Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (Pakistan)
4.      Journal of Science and Technology (Iran)
5.      ENGINEER Journal, IESL

Subjects related to:

  • Transportation Planning
  • Traffic Engineering
  • Disaster Management
  • Surveying and levelling
2021/2022Treasurer, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport – Sri Lanka (Central Chapter)
2022/2023Secretary, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport – Sri Lanka (Central Chapter)
2022/2023Secretary, Civil Engineering Society, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Environmental Impact Assessment Report of the Kandy Tunnel Construction Project

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