Dr Charith Rathnayaka is currently a Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).  He is alumni of LAMSES (Laboratory for Advanced Modelling and Simulation in Engineering and Science). Charith conducts his technical research on Computational Mechanics while implementing learning and teaching research on STEM Higher Education. Charith’s research on Computational Mechanics focuses on better understanding the mechanical response of bio-materials under different loading conditions as caused by various natural and man-made circumstances. Charith’s STEM Higher Education-related research focuses on peer-programs, support-for-learning, student success and retention. He is an Editorial Board member for the Journal of Peer Learning.

Charith completed his PhD at QUT, having previously completed Bachelor of Engineering (Honours). His PhD, in the field of Computational Mechanics, was awarded in December 2017. In recognition of the excellence of his doctoral research, Charith was awarded QUT Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award (Executive Dean’s Commendation Award). During his PhD, Charith successfully developed the world’s first meshfree computational mechanics-based plant cellular drying model. In doing so, Charith used Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) and Coarse-Grained methods to develop advanced computational methods with the aid of High Performance Computing (HPC) technologies. Charith has been capitalising on these skills and knowledge to conduct further research in multidisciplinary domains.

Charith conducts his teaching in Mechanical Engineering. He has significant teaching experience in multiple sub-fields of Mechanical Engineering such as Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics. In 2018, Charith was nominated for a Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Award based on his highly successful teaching efforts. Charith’s expertise and excellence in STEM higher education has recently been recognised through the award of a Senior Fellowship of UK Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).