Professor Anura Nanayakkara and Professor Ruwan Weerasekera retired from their dedicated service to the University of Moratuwa on 30th September 2023. To felicitate the retirements of these two remarkable individuals, a farewell ceremony was held on 19th January 2024 at the Department of Civil Engineering.
An alumnus of the University of Moratuwa, Professor Nanayakkara counts over forty years of uninterrupted service to the University, in the fields of teaching, research and consultancy. Professor Nanayakkara served as the Head of the Civil Engineering Department from 2013 to 2016. It was during his tenure as the Head of the Department, that the Department of Civil Engineering obtained full accreditation from the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka for its undergraduate degree which granted recognition among the Washington Accord signatories. Professor Nanayakkara’s research is in the area of Concrete Technology focusing on the use of alternative ingredients used in making concrete, mitigation of early age thermal cracking, and durability of concrete. The research carried out by Professor Nanayakkara and his collaborators has impacted the Sri Lankan construction industry beneficially. Professor Nanayakkara has contributed immensely to the development of national standards relating to building materials over the past 25 years having served and chaired working groups and sectoral committees of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution. His expertise was sought by the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) where his shared knowledge, skills, and experience have enabled their research teams to achieve tangible outcomes, including a patent on a highly permeable and energy absorbing paving block made from polyester spandex fabric waste where he is one of the three inventors.
An alumnus of the University of Moratuwa, Professor Weerasekera counts over forty years of uninterrupted service to the University, in the fields of teaching, research, administration and consultancy. Professor Weerasekera served as the Head of the Building and Structures Division/Rsearch Group of the Civil Engineering Department from 2013 to 2021. Professor Weerasekera’s research is in the areas of bridge engineering, computational mechanics, and analysis of concrete structures. He was a very active member of the Society of Structural Engineers Sri Lanka and held many positions such as Assistant Secretary (1992/1994), Honorary Secretary (1997/2001 and 2003/2004), Vice-President, and finally became President (2012/2015). Further, he was the President of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (Section C) Engineering, Architecture and Surveying in 2008. He was a kind, strict, disciplined and methodical person, who had shown administrative ability and leadership, by serving dedicatedly as Director of Quality Assurance (2006/2009) of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
All the academic and non-academic staff members at the Department of Civil Engineering wish the retired Professors a very happy retirement life filled with happiness and good health.
