Undergraduate @ University of Colombo School of Computing
Project Lead @ Nexus Aurora
NPoC @ SGAC
Introduction
I am currently pursuing my undergraduate degreee in Computer Science at the University of Colombo School of Computing. I am a huge fan of space exploration,
quantum computing and cryptography.
I am a founder and leader of several Sri Lankan student research teams involved in space-related research. I currently serve as a project lead at Nexus Aurora
Corp, DE, USA, working on the project Soil Penetration Darts, which has the potential to significantly lower the cost of Lunar sampling.
I am also leading the Lunarbot team, serve as the Technical Lead of Taprobane Rover project at SEDS Sri Lanka and am the National Point of Contact for the Space
Generation Advisory Council representing Sri Lanka.
Beyond space research, I am actively involved in quantum computing research, developing two novel Quantum Key Distribution protocols and a quantum e-voting system.
I've also worked on a generalization of the Collatz semi-group which indirectly led me to create numerous amazing fractal arts.
My dedication to innovation has earned several recent accomplishments. Our team won first place in the Overall Category of NASA's GLEE Mission's Lunar Deployment
Challenge (2024), secured multiple achievements in coding and computer science related competitions, and published multiple research papers and book chapters.
I was also honored with the Faculty Award from the University of Colombo School of Computing (2024) and the Asia Pacific Space Leader Award from the Space
Generation Advisory Council (2023).
In addition to research and competitions, I am actively involved in educational outreach and volunteer activities. As the NPoC for SGAC and
Divisional Manager of SEDS Sri Lanka's Robotics and Rover Division, I work to promote space education and technology development in Sri Lanka.
Quantum e-voting system using QKD and enhanced quantum Oracles - 16th Annual International Conference on Global Security, Safety and Sustainability (2024)
Economical Lunar Sample Return Mission with Soil Penetration Darts - 75th International Astronautical Congress (2024)
Quantum Revolution in Space: Enhancing Space Technology - Space Law Principles and Sustainable Measures, Space Law & Policy Series, Springer (2024)
Quantum Technologies for Space and Aerial Vehicles - Space Governance, Space Law & Policy Series, Springer (2024)
A highly motivated student with strong leadership qualities who is constantly seeking new challenges to push
the limits of his knowledge.
Actively seeking for academic opportunities in astronautics and quantum computing.
EDUCATION
University of Colombo School of Computing2023 - Present
Undergraduate DegreeColombo, Sri Lanka
Pursuing B.Sc. program in Computer Science (GPA: 3.89/4.00, Class Rank: 1)
Course Projects: ERP system for educational institutes (microservices architecture, miniReact framework,
Java backend, no libraries or frameworks used), Malloc emulator (python), Assembly emulator (python),
Social media web-app (MERN)
Honors: Director's List (Semesters 1, 2), Faculty award for best performing student (Year 1)
Clubs: Executive Committee Member (ISACA), Meetup Coordinator (ACM), Divisional Manager (SEDS), Member (IEEE)
Education & Professional Development Platform, SGACMar - Aug 2024
ACHIEVED AcademyRemote
Systems Engineering (84%), Launch & Operations (87%), Space Mission Design & Analysis (97.5%), Payload Design (95%)
Course Projects: MBSE model of a lunar habitat using Arcadia method and Capella
QWorld and Faculty of Computing, University of Latvia2023 - 2024
QClass 23/24 (6 ECTS, Graduate Level)Remote
Courses: Elements of Quantum Computing and Programming (100%), Elementary Quantum Algorithms (81.4%)
Course Projects: Quantum Computing based Card Game (QOmi)
D.S. Senanayake College2013 - 2022
Secondary EducationColombo, Sri Lanka
G.C.E. Advanced Level (Physical Science Stream): Chem: A, Phys: B, C.Maths: C, Eng: A, SAT: 1490 (790 M, 700 EBRW)
Clubs: President (Astronomy), Secretary (Social Services), Exec Member (Aeronautical), Quiz Captain (Science)
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Nexus Aurora CorporationAug 2022 – Present
Project Lead
Leading an international research team in the development of a planetary penetrator (Soil Penetration Darts)
Work & Tools: Hyper-velocity impact simulation using DEM models (Altair EDEM, PFC); CAD (Solid Edge, Solidworks);
Mission analysis (Python, GMAT); FEA (Solidworks); Prototyping (3D printing); MBSE (Capella)
LunarbotFeb 2020 – Present
Team Leader
Founder of Lunarbot, a local student team that develops innovative instruments for planetary rovers
Innovations: A grouser adjustable wheel system (SAWS); An extendable drilling mechanism for deep drilling (SWORD)
Partnered with Nexus Aurora to produce eight prototypes of the SAWS system, testing six prototypes on the SSAM rover
in Arctic and two on an Axel rover configuration in Sri Lanka, with a possible funding opportunity from NASA JPL
Work & Tools: CAD (Adobe Inventor); Terramechanic simulations (Altair EDEM); FEA (Solidworks); Self-locking gear
system design; Navigation and control algorithm design; System design & innovation
Great Lunar Expedition for EveryoneMay 2022 – Present
Remote Student Team Lead
Great Lunar Expedition is a NASA Artemis Challenge that aims to send student-developed ChipSats to the Moon
Led the mission operations planning and programming phases of two LunaSats and conducted several outreach activities
Designed a Lunar Deployment Module to disperse 100 LunaSats – L-SPyDer: Best proposal in the overall category
Work & Tools: Mission design; Power budget (python); Programming (Arduino); System design & innovation
Robotics and Rover Division of SEDS Sri Lanka2022 – Present
Technical Lead (2023) | Systems Engineering Lead (2022)
The Robotics and Rover Division of SEDS Sri Lanka is developing Taprobane, Sri Lanka’s first ever analog Mars rover
Currently leading a 50+ member university student team in the development and renovation of Taprobane rover
Work & Tools: Mission design; System Design & Innovation; PDR & CDR report preparation
Space Generation Advisory Council2022 – 2023
Co-Lead - HOPE Team (2023) | Structures & Thermal Subsystem Lead - RAISE Team (2022)
Led an international research team in the design of a CubeSat mission to a Uranian moon (HOPE-2023)
Designed the mechanical and thermal subsystems of a sample return mission concept to Mercury (RAISE-2022)
Work & Tools: CAD (Solid Edge), MBSE (Capella), Thermal Analysis (python); Mission budgets; System design & innovation
WORK EXPERIENCE
iRentTechSep 2023 – Present
Technical Assistant - Part Time
Overseeing delivery and repairs (software & hardware) of Laptops
PUBLICATIONS
Conference Papers
Quantum e-voting system using QKD and enhanced quantum Oracles - ICGS3 (Nov 25-27, 2024)
A Soil Penetration Dart (SPD) is a planetary penetrator developed to collect soil samples from the lunar surface's deep layers.
Nexus Aurora Corp, DE, USA, is actively developing the project with a team of six members.
The research findings were presented during the 73rd and 75th International Astronautical Congresses and were published in the congress proceedings.
Lunarbot, a research team of four Sri Lankan students, created the Self-Adapting Wheel System.
It was first conceptualized as part of the SPIDER lunar rover proposal for the Singapore Space Challenge 2021.
It was later improved as a customizable wheel system for any space exploration rover.
The outcomes of the research were presented at the 72nd International Astronautical Congress in Dubai and published in the congress proceedings.
Local patents were applied for this concept in March 2021. (Application No. LKA21653)
Lunarbot has collaborated with Nexus Aurora Corp., DE, USA, to physically construct and incorporate the wheel system into their Scout, Sample, and Map (SSAM) analog Mars rover.
The SAWS integrated SSAM rover (SSAM v2.0) will be tested at the Mars Society's Mars Dessert Research Station in Utah during its test period in April 2023.
This research was conducted under the guidance of the Space Exploration Project Group (SEPG) of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) as part of the ACHIEVED Initiative,
which stands for Assembly for Concepts in Human Interplanetary Exploration with Various Extraterrestrial Designations.
ACHIEVED is made up of two year-long mission design teams, one of which is named the RAISE team (Research Assembly for Innovative Projects in Space Exploration).
I was the Structures and Thermal Subsystems lead of the project.
The outcomes of the research were presented during the 73rd International Astronautical Congress in Paris and published in the congress proceedings.
Balloon Drone is a novel concept that combines an expandable helium balloon with a CubeSat based spacecraft to reduce the cost of performing small scale planetary missions.
The abstract was shortlisted for the second round of the AAE- SEPG Dream Mission Call 2023.
This research was conducted under the guidance of the Space Exploration Project Group (SEPG) of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) as part of the ACHIEVED Initiative,
which stands for Assembly for Concepts in Human Interplanetary Exploration with Various Extraterrestrial Designations.
ACHIEVED is made up of two year-long mission design teams, one of which is named the HOPE team (High-technology Operations for Planetary Exploration).
I served as one of the two co-leads of the project.
The outcomes of the research was presented at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Different Approach for A Generalization of the Collatz Semi-Group
The 3x+1 problem (Collatz Conjecture) inspired this research initiative.
After playing around with the conjecture for a while, my first instinct was to generalize it and substitute the "3" and "1" in the "3x+1" equation with variables.
While a single error is not always good, two errors may be advantageous at times.
That's how I came across a generalization to the years old Collatz Conjecture.
Later, I discovered that Prof. M. Bruschi had proposed a similar generalized form in 2008, with a challenge to disprove his idea.
While his approach was completely theoretical, mine was based on time sequence graphs, which are often used to visualize the Collatz Conjecture.
The intriguing result is that, while this approach provides another way to obtain Prof. M. Bruschi's conjecture, when applied to his generalized equation,
it produces various patterns that are difficult to define with my limited expertise.
If you're interested and want to work together, don't hesitate to send me an email.
A Pattern Among the Intervals Between Prime Numbers
The goal of this project is to find the least number of primes in any given interval size at any place on the numberline.
So far, it has been established that this minimum number has a close linear connection with the number of primes and the size of the interval.
A novel Quantum Key Distribution Protocol based on Symmetrically Entangled Deutsch-Jozsa Oracle
This project is currently under-development.
A Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol was implemented using two modified versions of the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm.
Symmetric entanglement of qubits was utilized for the creation of this protocol and the two versions differs by the semi and fully symmetrical entanglement of
Alice's and Bob's circuits.
Preprint
A novel Quantum Key Distribution Protocol based on Symmetrically Entangled Simon's Oracle
This project is currently under-development.
A Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol was implemented using two modified versions of the SImon's problem oracle.
Symmetric entanglement of qubits was utilized for the creation of this protocol and the two versions differs by the semi and fully symmetrical entanglement of
Alice's and Bob's circuits.
A novel Quantum Enhanced E-Voting System (Quantegrity)
This project is currently under-development.
A Quantum enhanced e-voting system based on the Scantegrity e-voting system and symmetrically entangled Deutsch-Jozsa quantum oracle based QKD protocol.
GLEE is one of NASA's Artemis Student Challenges and is a fully funded project to remotely develop two LunaSats.
213 teams were accepted for the remote edition, and I'm honored to lead one of two teams from Sri Lanka.
Due to the Silicon shortage, LunaSat Kits were delivered in September 2022. Our team completed the initial workshop modules by 2023.
We took part in the Lunar Deployment Module Challenge in 2024 and our design was chosen as the overall winner.
We are currently working with the GLEE team to evaluate their latest modules that explains how to develop our own LunaSat.
Taprobane is the first ever analog Mars rover that is being developed in Sri Lanka by SEDS Sri Lanka.
It is a six-wheeled autonomous rover with a rocker-boggie suspension, robotic arm, and a scoop to complete tasks
such as traversing on challenging terrains, gripping small objects, and obtaining soil samples.
Taprobane team was able to secure the 4th place in the International Rover Design Challenge (IRDC) organized by the Mars Society South Asia,
17th place in the on-site edition of the European Rover Challenge 2022 organized by Space Foundation.
We secured the 5th place in the remote edition of the European Rover Challenge in 2023. Currently, we are taking part in the IRDC 2025
to design a lunar rover mission to the south polar region.
Lunarbot, a research team of four Sri Lankan students, created the Selenography and Water Observatory Regolith Drill (SWORD).
It was first conceptualized as part of the SPIDER lunar rover proposal for the Singapore Space Challenge 2021.
Local patents were applied for this concept in March 2021. (Application No. LKA21652)
Super Polar Investigative Drilling Exploration Rover
SPIDER is a lunar rover concept capable of drilling and surface mapping proposed for the Singapore Space Challenge 2021,
which was hosted by the Singapore Space Technologies Ltd.
This was team Lunarbot's first major project, and we competed under the supervision of SEDS Sri Lanka.
The design received the Distinction Award as one of two runner-up teams.
SPIDER is made up of two detachable independent systems.
SPIDER is also where Lunarbot's future projects Self Adapting Wheel System(SAWS) and Selenography & Water Observatory Regolith Drill(SWORD) were born.
Owlbert is an AI-powered chatbot that helps people learn astronomy in a non-traditional way.
The concept was primarilly developed for the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2020 and was awarded with the Global Nominee Award.
Affordable Small Satellite Communication Relay (ASSCR) was developed by the team Space_warriors for the Act In Space 2020 compeittion by ESA.
The notion was to utilize the Oneweb satellite system to create a reliable and safe communication relay for CubeSats and minimize the requirement for communication expertise and ground stations.
Beam Line For Schools (BL4S) is a high school competition organized by CERN and DESY to allow high school teams
to test their particle physics hypotheses using Large Hadron Collider (LHC) or DESY particle accelerators.
Our project aimed to test the hypothesis: "The existence, momentum of electrons in a certain material would affect the stopping powers
for the positrons. Absence of electrons will minimize the annihilation making it a more
suitable decelerator target. Higher speeds and movements of electrons will increase the
probability of annihilation as well as the stopping powers. Further the density and the
intermolecular interactions can cause effects to make a material more or less suitable as a
decelerator target."
International Asteroid Search Campaign is a monthly citizen science project organized by the International Astronomical Search Colaboration (IASC) and Pan-STARRS.
Each campaign enables dozens of small teams to participate in asteroid hunting by providing them with real data sets from Pan-STARRS telescopes.
A preliminary asteroid candidate list is published at the end of each campaign.
After a few months, the list of provisional asteroids is published, and the discoverers receive a certificate for their efforts.
Provisional asteroids will remain provisional for several years until their orbits are confirmed.
