On the 31st of May 2024, the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Moratuwa bid farewell to one of its esteemed Senior Lecturers, Dr. (Mrs.) Premini Hettiarachchi, who retired after a commendable and dedicated service.
An alumnus of the University of Moratuwa with a First-Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering having been jointly awarded the A.N.S. Kulasinghe Award for the Best Civil Engineering Graduate, Dr. (Mrs.) Hettiarachchi counts over forty years of uninterrupted service to the University in the fields of teaching, research, administration and consultancy. Dr. (Mrs.) Hettiarachchi is responsible for introducing the latest revisions to Codes of Practice, including the Eurocode Recommendations in Timber and Steel, to the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Curricula at the University of Moratuwa. While her primary research interests are in the structural use of timber and steel, she also researched structural forms, learning from structural failures and structural engineering education. She has received awards for both teaching and research: the Senate Research Award in 2004 and the first-ever Teaching Excellence Award in 2007-8. She was a joint recipient of the SD&CC Award for the best research paper in the Journal of the Institution of Engineers (IESL), Sri Lanka, 1990 and, more recently, of the NSF Research Award 2008/2009. She was jointly awarded the Raghu Chandrakeerthy Gold Medal for the best paper at the Annual Sessions of the Society of Structural Engineers, Sri Lanka, on two different occasions in 2014 and 2019. Her research findings have been disseminated both in written and verbal form. Dr. (Mrs.) Hettiarachchi served as Editor of the Annual Proceedings of the Seminar ‘Research for Industry’, conducted by the Engineering Research Unit of the University of Moratuwa during its formative years. Just prior to her retirement, she served as Director of Quality Assurance of the Engineering Faculty of the University of Moratuwa.
As she steps into retirement from the university, it is anticipated that Dr. (Mrs.) Hettiarachchi will continue to serve society in diverse ways. The university extends heartfelt wishes for her success in the next phase of her illustrious career, and is confident that her active service will endure for years to come.
