Dr. Chamila Gunasekara
Details
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Department: School of Engineering
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Campus: City Campus Australia
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chamila.gunasekara@rmit.edu.au
Open to
- Masters Research or PhD student supervision
- Media enquiries
About
Dr. Chamila Gunasekara has been leading research in Low-Carbon Concrete, Construction Materials, and Structural Engineering. Distinguished with the esteemed Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), he earned his academic credentials from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka (B.Sc.Eng Honours), Saitama University in Japan (M.Eng), and RMIT University in Australia (Doctoral degree). His primary research interests are focussed on creation of novel solutions for construction materials incorporating numerous waste materials & digital technologies, and enhancing the sustainability in construction by creating smart built environment using information and communications technology. Dr. Gunasekara is a Chartered Member of Engineers Australia (CPEng), bringing with him five years of experience in the construction engineering and structural design sectors.
Awards
2023
RMIT Award for Research Engagement and Impact (Early Career Researcher)
STEM Industry and Engagement in Research Award, RMIT University
2022
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), Australian Research Council (2023-2026)
2019
EnGenius Industry prize for Capstone Research in the field of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, RMIT University
2017
Chang Jiang Scholarship & Travel Award to the second NPU Aoxiang Forum for Distinguished Young Scholars, Xi’an, China
2016
Research Publications Grant Award, School of Engineering, RMIT University
Media
2024
Carpet fibres stop concrete cracking
Green concrete recycling twice the coal ash is built to last
Academic positions
- Senior Lecturer
- RMIT University
- School of Engineering
- Melbourne, Australia
- Jan 2024 – Present
- Lecturer
- RMIT University
- School of Engineering
- Melbourne, Australia
- May 2021 – Dec 2023
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- RMIT University
- School of Engineering
- Melbourne, Australia
- Jul 2016 – Apr 2021
Non-academic positions
- Structural Design Engineer
- Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau
- , Sri Lanka
- 2008 – 2013
- Civil Engineer (Construction)
- MAGA Engineering Pte Ltd
- , Sri Lanka
- 2007 – 2008
Supervisor projects
- Upcycling Recycled Waste Materials in Concrete Production: Advancing a Circular Economy Through Comprehensive Cradle-to-Cradle Life Cycle Assessment
- 21 Feb 2025
- Engineering performance of textile fiber concrete
- 7 Feb 2025
- Optimized Decision-making Platform for Mapping Waste Material Flow
- 29 Jan 2025
- Long-Term Durability Assessment of Calcined Clay Low-Carbon Concrete
- 18 Dec 2024
- Efficient Separation and Recovery of Metal Oxides from Ash Using Magnetic and Chemical Methods
- 12 Nov 2024
- Rheological Formulation and pumpability of Calcined clay Concrete
- 26 Aug 2024
- Concrete products integrating upcycled cellulose Biochar from non-treated Timber waste
- 8 Mar 2024
- Characterizing low carbon concrete using advanced synchrotron technology
- 16 Feb 2024
- Transferring textile wastes into next-generation sustainable fibrous materials for carbon dioxide capture
- 8 Feb 2024
- From Design, Optimization to 3D-printed Fibre Reinforced Concrete
- 16 Jan 2024
- Green Concrete in Marine Applications: Durability and Sustainability aspect
- 30 Oct 2023
- Long-term Engineering Performance of Carbonated Recycled Aggregate Concrete
- 20 Oct 2023
- Sustainable Criterion Selection Framework for Green Construction Materials Utilized in Cement/Concrete Applications
- 18 May 2023
- Recycling and Reuse of Aerated Bricks
- 16 Mar 2023
- Degradation of PET fibers used in cement composites
- 17 Jan 2023
- Numerical simulation of shrinkage and crack damage behaviour in textile fibre-reinforced concrete
- 3 Jan 2023
- Development of Green concrete using Mining waste and Crumb rubber for acoustic applications
- 28 Nov 2022
- A synthetic textile waste fibre reinforced cementitious composite with improved thermal and sound insulation properties
- 21 Nov 2022
- The Use of Brown Coal Pond Ash as a Replacement of Cement in Concrete Masonry Bricks
- 18 Nov 2022
- Upcycled Textile Waste Used as Construction Material in Concrete Application
- 31 Aug 2022
- Manufacturing of structural grating hold down clips and roof purlins made using recycled plastics, waste tyre and timber
- 7 Mar 2022
- Development of Geopolymers for bushfire safety
- 4 Nov 2021
- Design of Geopolymer/Alkali Activated Concretes Using Advanced Machine Learning Technique
- 23 Aug 2021
- Performance of Geopolymer Based Binders in Improving the Expansive Subgrades in Road Construction
- 3 May 2021
- Predictive Modelling of Building Degradation as Influenced by Contributing Factors
- 23 Feb 2021
- Performance of 3D-Printed Cementitious Composites With Recycled Waste Materials
- 19 Jun 2020
- Development of Biochar and Cement-Based Materials for Urban Runoff Quality Improvement
- 11 Mar 2020
- Prioritization Model for Road Pavement Maintenance Fund Allocation Considering Cross Assets
- 6 Mar 2020
- Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Geopolymer Aggregate Concrete Behaviour
- 12 Dec 2019
- Performance of Sustainable Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Composite Incorporating Recycled Synthetic Textile Waste
- 26 Sep 2019
- Investigation of Rice Husk Ash as a Sustainable Source Material for Blended Low Calcium Fly Ash Based Alkali Activated Binders
- 31 Dec 2018
- The Long-Term Mechanical and Durability Properties of Indonesian Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete
- 14 Dec 2018
- Performance of HVFA Concrete Incorporating Nano Silica - A Detailed Study
- 1 Nov 2018
- The Use of Brown Coal Fly Ash as a Replacement of Cement In Concrete Masonry Bricks
- 7 Oct 2018
- Experimental Study of the Clay Activation Methods to Develop Geopolymer Binder
- 7 Oct 2018
- Sustainable Soil Stabilization for Unsealed Roads Subjected to Operational Loads
- 30 Aug 2018
Teaching interests
Teaching Interests
Prestressed Concrete (CIVE1151, CIVE1152)
Infrastructure Management
Supervisor Interest areas
Advanced Materials Characterisation
Developing Low-Carbon Concretes
Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Construction Materials
Digital Engineering for Sustainability
Supervisor Projects
Geopolymer Concrete
Calcined Clay Concrete and Mechanochemical activation (MCA)
Textile-reinforced Concrete
Nanoscience-based Sustainable Construction Materials using Reclaimed Waste
Characterising Concrete using Advanced Synchrotron Technology
Concrete Durability and Performance Modelling
Environmental Impact Assessment & Whole Life Costing of Concrete Infrastructure
Program
BH077 – Bachelor of Engineering (Civil and Infrastructure, Honours)
https://www.rmit.edu.au/study-with-us/engineering/civil-engineering
Research interests
Dr. Gunasekara has an international reputation in three key research areas: (a) Advanced materials characterisation using cutting-edge technology; (b) Developing innovative sustainable construction materials using reclaimed waste through nanoscience-based technologies; and (c) Engineering performance and modelling of low-carbon concretes.
Research Keywords
Geopolymer Concrete; Textile-reinforced Concrete; Calcined Clay Concrete; Concrete Durability; Digital Engineering and Smart Technology; Environmental Impact Assessment and Whole Life Costing; Machine learning aided Physics-based Modelling; Circular Economy.
Initiatives and Links
Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transformation of reclaimed resources to engineered materials and solutions for a circular economy TREMS
Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Whole Life Design of Carbon Neutral Infrastructure DfCO2
Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre in digital platforms for Net-Zero Building Ecosystem Lifecycle NOBEL
