Prof. Janaka B. Ekanayake

Prof. Janaka B. Ekanayake

Professor

Ph.D. (UMIST, UK), B.Sc.Eng (Peradeniya, Sri Lanka)

Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

University of Peradeniya

Sri Lanka

ABOUT ME

Janaka Bandara Ekanayake obtained BScEng (First Class Honours) from Peradeniya University in 1990 and PhD from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, UK in 1995. He has published over 80 refereed journal papers and 100 conferences papers and co-authored 7 books. He has a Google Scholar h-index of 45 with 11839 number of citations, the highest for engineering in Sri Lanka. He has held research grants in Sri Lanka and UK that total 2 million GBP

An article published by researchers from Stanford University and Elsevier BV in 2020 ranked him among the top 2% of researchers in the world (2nd in Sri Lanka). He obtained the CVCD Excellence Awards in 2018, NSF Research Award for Scientific Excellence in 2018, and 7 Presidential Awards for Research. Prof. Ekanayake is a Fellow of IEEE (USA), IET (UK), and IESL. He is also recognized as an IEEE PES distinguished lecturer. He has given keynote and invited speeches at many conferences in the UK, China, and India.

Prof. Ekanayake has contributed to renewable energy generation and integration in the UK, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. He a member of the editorial board of IEEE Transaction on Energy Conversion (2007 to 2019), IET Journal of Renewable Energy (2015 to date), Journal of Wind Energy (2013 to date), and Ceylon Journal of Science (2016 to 2018). He was the Organising Vice Chairperson of the First IEEE PES conference of Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (2012) held in Tianjin, China.

Prof. Ekanayake is the Chair Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of the University of Peradeniya. He is also a visiting professor at Cardiff University, UK and Universiti Tenaga National, Malaysia. Further, he served as a Visiting Professorial Fellow of the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering, the University of Wollongong, Australia for the period 2017 - 2020. He is the Chairman of the Expert Committee on Renewable Energy since May 2020 and was Chairman of the NIFS (2019).

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

B.Sc.Eng. with a First Class Honours from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, Feb 1990
Ph.D. from UMIST, UK, Oct 1995 (Topic: An Investigation of an Advanced Static VAr Compensator)

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

FIET - Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK)
FIEEE - Fellow of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (USA)
FIESL - Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL)
CEng - Chartered Engineer, Engineering Council, UK and Sri Lanka

OTHER INFORMATION

Editorial

A member of the Editorial Board of IET journal of Renewable Power Generation, October 2015 to date
A member of the Editorial Board of Wind Engineering journal, January 2014 to date
A member of the Editorial Board of IEEE Transaction on Energy Conversion, January 2007 to 2017.
A member of the Editorial Board of Ceylon Journal of Science, June 2016 to 2018

Invited lectures

Keynote address on “Artificial Intelligent based Innovations for forecasting and control of COVID-19”, 15th December 2020, International Conference on ‘From Innovation to Impact’, Sri Lanka.
Keynote address on “The Role of Built Environments for a sustainable electrical energy future”, 10th – 12th December 2020, 11th International Conference on Sustainable Built Environment (ICSBE), Sri Lanka.
Keynote address on “Making the economic growth “greener” by power sector interventions”, 15th October 2020, 13th International Research Conference ‘Holistic Approach to National Growth and Security’, Sri Lanka.
Invited Speech on “Technical issues resulting from connection of distributed solar PV systems to the national grid and solutions for such issues”, Annual Sessions of the Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association, 2019
Invited Speech on “Non-intrusive Load Monitoring”, April 23-24, 2018; 7th Symposium of the Consortium for Rapid Smart Grid Impact (CRSGI), Sri Lanka
Keynote Address on “Wind Generation and its Grid Connection”, 18 December 2017; AICTE Sponsored 3rd International Conference (IPECS – 2017), India
Invited Speech on “How Smart Grid Deployment Can Facilitate Integration of Renewables”, 16th August 2017; International Conference on Integration of Renewable Energy into the National Grid, Sri Lanka
Invited Speech on “Integrating Green Technologies for Buildings: Solar photovoltaic, electric vehicles and smart meters”, 26 June, 2016; Green Building Council of Sri Lanka.
“A multi-level voltage control in a PV MicroGrid”, Keynote speaker, Applied Energy Symposium and Forum, REM 2016: Renewable Energy Integration with Mini/Micro grid (REM 2016), Maldives, April 2016.
IEEE PES Distinguished lecturer on “Integrating Green Technologies for Buildings: Solar photovoltaic, electric vehicles and smart meters”, 7 & 8 April, 2016; Sydney and Brisbane, Australia.
“Optimizing the Wind Farm Collector network”, Plenary speaker, 2nd International Conference on Control, Instrumentation, Energy & Communication, University of Calcutta, India on January 2016.
“DC networks - Key enabler for renewable additions and ideal solution for developing countries”, Invited panel speaker, International Conference on Power System Technology (POWERCON2014), Chengdu, China on October, 2014
R.H. Paul memorial lecture, “Smart Grid of the Future”, The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 2014.

Publications

Latest Refereed Journal Papers

Indexed in Science Citation Index Expanded

2021

Aidha Muhammad Ajmal, Vigna K. Ramachandaramurthy, Anuradha Tomar, Janaka B. Ekanayake, “Optimal dynamic reconfiguration of large-scale PV plant under partial shading conditions based on two reconfigurable stages”, International Transactions on Electrical Energy Systems (IF: 1.692) (Accepted)

2021

Wele Gedara Chaminda Bandara, Dilini Almeida, G.M.R.I. Godaliyadda, Mervyn Parakrama Ekanayake, Janaka Bandara Ekanayake, “A Complete State Estimation Algorithm for a Three-Phase Four-Wire Low Voltage Distribution System with High Penetration of Solar PV”, International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems (IF: 3.588), Volume 124, January 2021, 106332

2020

Eshan Karunarathne, Jagadeesh Pasupuleti, Janaka Ekanayake and Dilini Almeida, “Optimal Placement and Sizing of DGs in Distribution Networks Using MLPSO Algorithm”, Energies (IF: 2.702), 2020 (Accepted)

Indexed in Scopus

2021

Dallatu Abbas U, SK Tiong, Ammar Ahmed Alkahtani, CP Chen, Gamal Alkawsi, and Janaka Ekanayake, “Power Curve Evaluation of Micro-Scale Turbines for Harvesting Wind Energy in Malaysia”, Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences (CiteScore: 1.4), 15, No. 1, 59-71, 2021.

2021

Eshan Karunarathne, Jagadeesh Pasupuleti, Janaka Ekanayake, Dilini Almeida, “Network loss reduction and voltage improvement by optimal placement and sizing of distributed generators with active and reactive power injection using fine-tuned PSO”, Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (CiteScore: 1.4), Vol. 21, No. 2, February 2021, pp. 647-656

2021

Gamal Abdulnaser Alkawsi, Norashikin Ali, Abdulsalam Salihu Mustafa, Yahia Baashar, Hitham Alhussian, Ammar Alkahtani, Sieh Kiong Tiong, Janaka Ekanayake, A hybrid SEM-neural network method for identifying acceptance factors of the smart meters in Malaysia: Challenges perspective, Alexandria Engineering Journal (CiteScore: 6.5), Volume 60, Issue 1, February 2021, Pages 227-240.

Latest International Conferences

2020

Modified Auto Regressive Technique for Univariate Time Series Prediction of Solar Irradiance, 15th IEEE International Conference on Industrial and Information Systems, 2020.

2020

W.M.M. Sugandhi Wanigasekara, J.B. Ekanayake, S.R.K. Aruppola, “Investigating feasibility of operating Moragahakanda hydropower station in Sri Lanka in Island mode”, HYDRO-2020 26-28 October 2020.

2020

Eshan Karunarathne, Jagadeesh Pasupuleti, Dilini Almeida, Janaka Ekanayake, “Multi-Leader Particle Swarm Optimization for Optimal Planning of Distributed Generation”, 18th IEEE Student Conference on Research and Development, Malaysia, 27 - 29 September 2020.

Book

2017

Nick Jenkins and Janaka Ekanayake, “Renewable Energy Engineering”, 2017, ISBN: 9781107680227, Cambridge University Press.

2017

Chengshan Wang, Jianzhong Wu, Janaka Ekanayake, Nick Jenkins, “Smart Electricity Distribution Networks”, 2017, ISBN 9781482230550, CRC Press.

2012

B.M. Weedy, B.J. Cory, N. Jenkins, J.B. Ekanayake, G. Strbac, “Electric Power Systems”, 5th Edition, 2012, ISBN 1118361091, Wiley.

Research

Ongoing Researches

Artificial Intelligence framework for threat assessment and containment for COVID-19 and future epidemics
Smart Grid and renewable integration

Recent Grants Received

Title of the project: Artificial Intelligence framework for threat assessment and containment for COVID-19 and future epidemics while mitigating the socioeconomic impact to women, children, and underprivileged groups.
Year: 2021- (On-going)
Funding Body: International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada
Amount: CAD$ 737,846
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: Designing, fabrication and testing a Smart Distribution Transformer for Voltage Regulation and Frequency Support
Year: 01/01/2019 to 30/12/2020 (On-going)
Funding Body:World Bank Project on “Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development Operation (AHEAD)”
Amount:LKR 45,000,000 (US$ 225,000)
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: Development of a novel predictive based Smart Distribution Management System (S-DMS) to maximize the rooftop PB absorption capacity of last mile networks
Year: 28/12/2018- (On-going)
Funding Body:National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka
Amount: LKR 2,183,289 (US$ 11,000)
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: Non intrusive load monitoring for flexible demand estimation and management
Year:01/08/2016 - 01/08/2018
Funding Body:National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka
Amount: LKR 1,423,364 (US$ 10,000)
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: Security of supply with the large scale deployment of PV in Sri Lanka
Year:01/03/2016 – 01/03/2018
Funding Body:Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka
Amount: LKR 4,641,000 (US$ 34,500)
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: Energy Efficient Utilisation of PV through a DC Micro Grid
Year: 01/11/2015 – 01/11/2017
Funding Body:Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka
Amount:LKR 4,421,500 (US$ 33,000)
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: Peer to peer smart energy distribution networks
Year: 01/01/2015 - 31/12/2017
Funding Body:European Commission
Amount:£304,592
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: Dynamic ratings of power distribution lines
Year: 01/06/2014 - 30/05/2016
Funding Body:National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka
Amount:LKR 2,062,800 (US$ 15,630)
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: The investigation of the use of smart transformer for a dynamic Volt-Var control (VVC)
Year: 01/01/2014 - 30/12/2015
Funding Body:International Research Centre, University of Peradeniya
Amount:LKR 2,250,000 (US$ 17,000)
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: The effects of shading on a fixed PV panels and possible remedies to minimise these effects.
Year: 01/01/2014 - 30/12/2014
Funding Body:University of Peradeniya
Amount:LKR 500,000 (US$ 3,750)
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: Future Network Technologies (FLEXNET)
Year: 17/03/2008 - 30/03/2012
Funding Body:EPSRC, UK
Amount:£659,057
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: SUPERGEN Highly Distributed Power Systems Consortium (HDPS)
Year: 01/07/2009-30/06/2013
Funding Body:EPSRC, UK
Amount:£421,811
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: HUBNET
Year: 01/06/2011 - 31/05/2016
Funding Body:EPSRC, UK
Amount:£311,393
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: Transformation of the Top and Tail
Year: 01/10/2011 - 30/09/2015
Funding Body:EPSRC, UK
Amount:£382,107
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: Mobile Energy Resources in Grid Electricity (MERGE)
Year: 01/01/2010 - 31/12/2011
Funding Body:European Commission
Amount:£314,672
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: Supporting Energy Efficiency in Smart GENeration grids through ICT
Year: 01/06/2009 - 31/05/2011
Funding Body:EPSRC, UK
Amount:£11,520
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: Demand management through smart meters
Year: 2010 – 2011
Funding Body:Toshiba Research Europe Ltd
Amount:£20,188
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: Commonwealth professional fellowships
Year: Three months (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12)
Funding Body:Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK
Amount:£500 each
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: A collaborative research and education program between Sweden, India and Sri Lanka on the effects of tropical lightning flashes on power and telecommunication systems
Year: 2007 – 2009
Funding Body:Sida/SAREC of Sweden
Amount:150,000 SEK (£12,000)
Role: Co-Investigator

Title of the project: Protection coordination of a distribution system with Fault Current Limiter
Year: 2005 – 2007
Funding Body:Areva T & D, Stafford, UK
Amount:Euro 18,580.00
Role: Principal Investigator

Title of the project: Research capacity building in electric engineering
Year: 1995 – 2002
Funding Body:Sida/SAREC of Sweden
Amount:7,000,000 SEK (£ 560,000)
Role: Co-Investigator

AWARDS & MEMBERSHIPS

AWARDS

1st place and 3rd Place, Best Research Paper Award, Vidulka National Energy Symposium, 2019
1st place, The innovation category, Vidulka National Energy Symposium, 2019
Most outstanding Senior Researcher in the field of Technology/Science/Engineering/Architecture/Quantity Surveying/Information, CVCD Excellence Awards, 2018.
NSF Research Awards for Scientific Excellence, 2018
Presidential Award for Scientific Research 2017 Awarded in 2019
Presidential Award for Research 2016 Awarded in 2018
1st and 2nd Place, Best Research Paper Award, Vidulka National Energy Symposium, 2017
3rd Place, Best Research Paper Award, Vidulka National Energy Symposium, 2015
Presidential Award for Research 2007 Awarded in 2014
Presidential Award for Research 2004 Awarded in 2010
Presidential Award for Research 2003 Awarded in 2010
Commonwealth Fellowship, 2001-2002
President's Research Bonus, 1999 awarded in June 2001 - awarded by Sri Lankan President
Best Paper in University Research Sessions, University of Peradeniya, 1999

MEMBERSHIPS

Fellow of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (USA)
Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK)
Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL)
Chartered Engineer, Engineering Council, UK and Sri Lanka
Member of the Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association

POSITIONS HELD

Chairman, Expert Committee to identify strategies and devise way forward to achieve Renewable Energy targets of the Government, Ministry of Power and Energy since May 2020.

Member of the Advisory Committee of the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority since 12/07/2019.

Member of the NSF working committee on Science & Technology Policy Research, National Science Foundation, 01/06/2019 to 31/12/2020.

Chairman, National Institute of Fundamental Studies, July - December 2019.

Director, Computing Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, From 2003 to 2006.

Head of the Department, Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka from December 2013 to September 2016 and March 1998 to March 2001.

Member of the Board of Directors of Ceylon Electricity Board, January 2000 - January 2001.

TEACHING

University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka: 1992 to 2007 and 2012 to date

MSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Cardiff School of Engineering, UK: 2008 to date

MSc in Electrical Energy Systems, 2008 Sep to date
Energy thread of BEng/MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2010 Sep to date
Design courses for MEng in electrical and electronic engineering

University of Wollongong, Australia: April 2016

MSc module on “Renewable and Embedded Generation”

University of Oulu, Finland: Dec 2011

The special MSc module on “Introduction to Smart Grids”

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST): 2003 to 2007 (part time)

MSc/CPD in electrical engineering