Yasas Gamagedara

Overview

Yasas Gamagedara is from Sri Lanka and completed his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Agricultural Technology and Management (majoring in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering) from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in 2016. During the last semester of the undergraduate program, he conducted a research project on “Development of a Methane Emission Concentration Map: Case Study at Karadiyana Dumpsite, Sri Lanka” and it was the first emission study conducted in the country. Soon after his bachelors’ degree, he started his Master’s degree (M.Sc.) at the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, and completed the M.Sc. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in 2019.

In 2017, Yasas started his professional career as an assistant consultant in Waste to Energy Technologies Limited, which is a consultancy firm that offers consultancy and design services to the government and private sector on waste management, environment management, and pollution control. He gained exposure to site assessment procedures, development of rehabilitation plans for the country’s major waste dumpsites such as Meethotumulla, Karadiyana, and Sundarapola, development of comprehensive manure and nutrient management plan for the country’s largest dairy farm at Ambewela, and laboratory analysis of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in used oil samples collected from across the country.

Further, Yasas worked with a Japanese consultancy firm called EX Research Institute to introduce energy-saving equipment with natural or low global warming potential refrigerants for Sri Lanka and also to establish a sound resource recovery, material recycling system in Ratnapura Municipal area. Finally, he worked as a consultant field manager in one of the country’s leading non-government organizations called Janathakshan (Guarantee) Limited and implemented a livelihoods restoration plan under the Strategic Cities Development Project, Sri Lanka.

Yasas brings a combination of strong academic background and practical industrial experience along with immense interest in a fascinating area of novel research in Agricultural & Biological Engineering.

Education

• M.B.A., in General, Cardiff Metropolitan University, United Kingdom
• M.Sc., in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
• B.Sc., in Agricultural Technology and Management, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Experience Record

• January 2022 – Present, Graduate Research Assistant, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
• July 2021 – December 2021, Consultant Field Manager, Janathakshan (Guarantee) Limited, Colombo, SL
• January 2019 – September 2021, Consultant/ Research Assistant, Waste to Energy Technologies Limited, Battaramulla, SL
• June 2017 – November 2018, Project Coordinator, EX Research Institute Limited, Tokyo, Japan
• March 2017 – July 2017, Intern, Research Division, International Water Management Institute, Battaramulla, SL

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

• Gamagedara, Y., Wijewardane, N. K., Feng, G., Seybold, S., Williams, M., Tagert, M. L., Martins, V. S., (2024): Can we use a mid-infrared fine-ground soil spectral library to predict non-fine-ground spectra?, Geoderma, 443, 116799, ISSN 0016-7061, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116799.

Conference Proceedings, Presentations, and Abstracts

• Karunarathna, A., Gamagedara, Y., Mannapperuma, N., Ariyawansha, R. and Basnayake, B.F.A., (2018): Development of a Methane (CH₄) Surface Emission Map: A Case Study at Karadiyana Dumpsite, Sri Lanka, APLAS TOKYO 2018, The 10th Asia-Pacific Landfill Symposium (Japan), 24 – 26, November 2018, pp 291-296.
• Aheeyar, M., Manthrithilake, H., Ranasinghe, C., Rengaraj, M., Gamagedara, Y., and Barron, J., (2019): Mechanizing Water Lifting through Pumps: A Case Study in Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 61p. (IWMI Working Paper 188). doi: 10.5337/2019.206.
• Gamagedara K.Y.B., Alahakoon A.M.Y.W. Karunarathna A.K., Kirindage K.G.I.S. and Attanayake C. P., (2019): Thermo-Pyrolysis Conversion of Sewage Sludge into Biochar and its Characterization, Proceedings of Peradeniya University International Research Sessions (iPURSE 2019), Volume 22, pp 50.
• Gamage H.G.V.D., Karunarathna A.K. and Gamagedara K.Y.B., (2020): Test of Root Tensile Strength of Candidate Plant Species for Soil Bioengineering in Shallow Landslides, Proceedings of the 6^th Faculty of Agriculture Undergraduate Research Symposium (FAuRS 2019) held in Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 16^th July 2020. pp 205.

Working Reports

• Anurudda Karunarathna, Thilini Rajapaksha, Yasas Gamagedara, Shenal Kaldera, and Nadeesha Vidanage, (2021): Challenges and Opportunities of Source-Segregated Waste Collection in Sri Lanka, IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET). Available at: https://www.ccet.jp/publications/challenges-and-opportunities-source-segregated-waste-collection-sri-lanka
• Anurudda Karunarathna, Thilini Rajapaksha, Yasas Gamagedara, Shenal Kaldera, and Nadeesha Vidanage, (2020): Effective Plastic Waste Management, in Sri Lanka, IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET). Available at: https://www.ccet.jp/publications/effective-plastic-waste-management-sri-lanka
• Anurudda Karunarathna, Thilini Rajapaksha, Yasas Gamagedara, Shenal Kaldera, and Nadeesha Vidanage, (2020): Towards Sustainable Operation and Management of Centralized Composting in Sri Lanka, IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET). Available at: https://www.ccet.jp/publications/towards-sustainable-operation-and-management-centralized-composting-sri-lanka