Rate My Professor Sarath Abayakoon

Prof. S.B.S. Abayakoon, known professionally as Sarath Abayakoon, is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He obtained his BScEng with First Class Honours from the University of Peradeniya in 1979, followed by an MASc in 1983 and a PhD in 1987 from the University of British Columbia, Canada. During his graduate studies at UBC from 1981 to 1987, he served as a Teaching and Research Assistant and Graduate Fellow. His extensive career at the University of Peradeniya includes positions as Lecturer (1979–1980, 1988–1989), Senior Lecturer (1990–1999), Associate Professor (1999–2003), Professor (2004–2005), and Senior Professor since 2006. Notable administrative roles encompass Head of the Department of Civil Engineering (2003–2005), Dean of the Faculty of Engineering (April 2005–July 2009), and Vice Chancellor of the University (2009–2012). Additionally, he has held visiting appointments as Visiting Professor and Research Engineer at UBC (1999–2002, 1997–1998) and Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo in 1997.

Abayakoon's research interests focus on geotechnical engineering, seismic response analysis, timber engineering, disaster management and mitigation, and applications of finite element methods in engineering. His scholarly contributions include numerous publications, such as "Low Cost Housing, Economical Use of Sri Lankan Timber" (2009), "Potential of Soil Liquefaction in Sri Lanka" (2008), "An Appraisal of Seismically Weak Buildings in Colombo, Sri Lanka" (2007), "Seismicity Around Sri Lanka – A Probabilistic Approach" (2005), "A Design Earthquake Magnitude for Sri Lanka" (2005), and the journal article "Large deflection elastic–plastic analysis of plate structures by the finite strip method" (1989). He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, an International Professional Engineer, and a Chartered Engineer. Abayakoon has served on significant committees, including the Board of Governors of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies, the Dam Safety Review Panel established by the World Bank, and the National Committee on Sri Lankan Quality Framework. His work has significantly influenced geotechnical and disaster risk reduction practices in Sri Lanka.