Janaka Ruwanpura

Last updated
Janaka Ruwanpura
Janaka Ruwanpura University of Calgary.jpg
Janaka Ruwanpura in 2016
Born
Sri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan and Canadian [1]
Education Nalanda College Colombo
University of Moratuwa
Arizona State University
University of Alberta
OccupationProfessor
Employer University of Calgary Canada
TitleProfessor of Civil Engineering and Project Management (Former Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President Research (International) 2013-24)

Professor Janaka Ruwanpura is a Professor of Project Management at the Schulich School of Engineering [2] at the University of Calgary. He successfully completed his term as the Vice Provost and Associate Vice-President Research (International) of the University of Calgary, Canada (equivalent to Pro-Vice Chancellor in English system) from Sept. 1, 2020 until March 29, 2024. He was the Vice-Provost International since 2013 until 2020. In 2022, Janaka was a winner of the Top25 Canadian Immigrant Awards [3] selected by Canadian Immigrant Magazine. [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Janaka Yasantha Ruwanpura, a Buddhist, was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka and was the only son of Dr. R.P. Sirisena, Medical Superintendent of Ayurvedic General Hospital (Colombo 8) and Nanda Sirisena. Janaka was a distinguished student of Nalanda College Colombo and he held numerous leadership positions during his high school time. [5]

Janaka graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honors) degree in Quantity Surveying in 1992 (having spent 2 extra years due to civil unrest) from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He was the "Batch Top" (top student of the year) for all four consecutive years and obtained two convocation awards in 1992 – the Professor H.P.S. Caldera Memorial Award for best final year student, and the Institute of Quantity Surveyors Award for the best graduate of the program [6] Ruwanpura was a lecturer in Quantity Surveying at the University of Moratuwa from 1992 to 1995. He was also an active quantity surveying consultant for a number of clients and companies in Sri Lanka and served as the founding Manager – Projects for QServe, a Quantity Surveying firm in Sri Lanka. [6]

In 1994, Janaka received both the U.S. Fulbright Scholarship and President's Scholarship of Sri Lanka [6] In 1995, he chose the US Fulbright to pursue a Master of Science in Construction Management at Arizona State University and graduated in 1997. Janaka chose the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada for his PhD to work with one of the world's top professors in construction engineering and management – Professor Simaan AbouRizk. Janaka had received a F.S. Chia PhD scholarship and obtained a PhD in Construction Engineering and management in 2001. He was a star student winning 7 awards and scholarships during his PhD studies. [7]

Career

In 2001, he was recruited by the University of Calgary (UCalgary) as an Assistant professor in Civil Engineering specializing in project management. He was promoted as an Associate Professor with tenure in 2006. The current President of UCalgary, Dr. Elizabeth Cannon, then Dean of Engineering, nominated Janaka (to the Federal Government of Canada) as a Canada Research Chair in Project Management Systems in 2007, [8] which was renewed in 2012 for another 5 years. [9]

Janaka became a full professor in 2011. He was the Director of the Project Management Specialization since 2005 and became the founding director of the Centre for Project Management Excellence in the Schulich School of Engineering in 2011. [10]

In 2013 he was appointed as the Vice-Provost International (equivalent to Pro-Vice-Chancellor International) of the University of Calgary for a 5-year term. [11] The UCalgary had a comprehensive international search and found Janaka as the successful candidate to lead UCalgary's international strategy. Janaka resigned from the Canada Research Chair to accept this senior leadership position. [5] The University of Calgary re-appointed him for the second term of 5 years as Vice-Provost International for until June 2023 [12] The University of Calgary extended his responsibilities in 2020 by appointing him for a dual role - both the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President Research (International) [13]

Janaka is a dual professional in Canada – he is a licensed professional engineer (P.Eng) in Alberta and a professional quantity surveyor (PQS) in Canada. He is also a Professional/ Chartered Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, UK (MRICS) and Fellow of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors in Sri Lanka. He was inducted as a fellow of three prestigious professional organizations, a fellow of Canadian Society of Civil Engineering (FCSCE) in 2014, [14] a member/fellow of the National Academy of Construction (NAC) in the United States (2021), [15] a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE) in 2023. [16] and a fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada in 2024 [17]

Janaka was also a founding member and then the convenor of the International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction, a multi-university international consortium which provides overall leadership in research, education, planning, design and implementation for mitigation of the impact of natural disasters and infrastructure renewal and reconstruction projects in tsunami affected or underdeveloped regions. [18]

Janaka has been elected as the new executive chair of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Commission on International Initiatives (CII) Executive Committee. Ruwanpura is the first Canadian member to chair [19] the executive committee of one of APLU’s commissions and councils. He is also a member of the Board for Canadian Bureau for International Education [20] since Nov. 2020.

Scholarly accomplishments

Ruwnapura had very productive scholarly achievements during his short academic career. He had mentored and supervised over 150 graduate students. He also led the development of many best practices and tools in engineering and technology in the areas of Construction Engineering, Civil Engineering and Project management. He has been successful in establishing research in these areas, developing a novel research area under the themes of construction productivity improvement, modeling and simulation analysis with backing and funding from industry partners. [21] He developed a "Productivity ToolBox" for ten strategic areas. Some of these tools such as i-Booth© are now commercialized. He has published over 180 technical articles in refereed journal papers and conference papers. He had delivered 15 keynote speeches and over 200 presentations and workshops. [7]

Honours and awards

Professor Ruwanpura has received many awards and honours.

Professor Ruwanpura with his two colleagues (Dr. Reza Maalek and Professor Derek Litchi representing the Automated Monitoring and Control Systems Group) won the "Outstanding Achievement in Applied Technology Innovation award" [33] at the Alberta Science and Technology (ASTECH) awards in 2018.

In addition to the above international, national and local awards, he had received numerous awards from the University of Calgary.

Vice-Provost International (VPI) role at the University of Calgary

As a VPI he leads the implementation of the international strategy aimed to position the University of Calgary as a global intellectual hub, advancing the university's efforts in areas such as international education and research partnerships and programming, staff and student mobility, on-campus internationalization and more. [39] Since 2013, Ruwanpura's leadership as VPI had contributed to establish various new initiatives and projects (see below) at UCalgary and to win six excellence and innovation awards including the prestigious Institutional Award for Global Learning, Research, & Engagement from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Association for Public and Land-grant Universities in 2017 [40] (first Canadian University to win this award), [41] prestigious Board of Directors’ Award for Comprehensive Internationalization from the Canadian Bureau for International Education in 2016 [42] during their 50th anniversary and the bronze award for Excellence in Education from the Canada China Business Council. [43] In 2019, Ruwanpura and his staff at the University of Calgary was recognized with [44] a Catalyst Award for Innovation by the Canadian Bureau for International Education for developing an International Partnership Assessment Rating Index (IPARI) for a method to assess international partnerships, identify top partners in each country, develop strategic partnerships and decide whether to re-engage or eliminate stalled partnerships. [45] In February 2020, Association of International Education Administrators honored the University of Calgary with an Innovation Award [46] in Internationalization for IPARI [47] ..

a) Science and engineering undergraduate students in China are able to start their studies at home and complete them in Calgary, thanks to a new program developed under the University of Calgary's international strategy. The program will appeal to foreign students wishing to enhance their English language skills, work internationally or join a top company in their home country after graduation. Participants study in Canada and earn a second degree – in addition to one from their university in China – that will expand their post-graduation options. [48]

b) The University of Calgary established a new Global Research Site in Energy – 4000 square meters of new space with 7 research labs and training room with a donation from a Chinese company (worth $11.5 Million). [49]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Calgary</span> Public research university in Canada

The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being instituted into a separate, autonomous university in 1966. It is composed of 14 faculties and over 85 research institutes and centres. The main campus is located in the northwest quadrant of the city near the Bow River and a smaller south campus is located in the city centre. The main campus houses most of the research facilities and works with provincial and federal research and regulatory agencies, several of which are housed next to the campus such as the Geological Survey of Canada. The main campus covers approximately 200 hectares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aritha Van Herk</span> Canadian writer, critic, editor, public intellectual, and university professor

Aritha van Herk,, is a Canadian writer, critic, editor, public intellectual, and university professor. Her work often includes feminist themes, and depicts and analyzes the culture of western Canada.

Seymour Schulich is a Canadian businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Calgary Solar Car Team</span> Solar car racing team at the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary Solar Car Team is a multi-disciplinary student-run solar car racing ("raycing") team at the University of Calgary, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was established to design and build a solar car to compete internationally in the American Solar Challenge (ASC) and the World Solar Challenge (WSC). The team is primarily composed of undergraduate students studying Engineering, Business, Science, Arts and Kinesiology. The mission of the University of Calgary Solar Car Team is to educate the community about sustainable energy and to serve as an interdisciplinary project through which students and faculty from various departments can collaborate in supporting sustainable energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry</span> Medical and dental school of the University of Western Ontario

The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry is the combined medical school and dental school of the University of Western Ontario, a public university in London, Ontario, Canada

The University of CalgaryFaculty of Law, at the University of Calgary. is a law school in Calgary, Alberta.

Allan P. Markin, OC, AOE was the chairman of Canadian Natural Resources Limited and is a co-owner of the Calgary Flames ice hockey franchise of the National Hockey League based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schulich School of Engineering</span>

The Schulich School of Engineering is the accredited engineering school of the University of Calgary located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It currently has 4,610 enrolled students and over 150 faculty members. The school offers seven engineering degree programs.

Amit Chakma is a university administrator who was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Western Australia in July 2020. Previously he served as the 10th president and vice-chancellor of the University of Western Ontario from 2009 to 2019.

Naweed I. Syed is a Pakistani-born Canadian neuro-scientist. He is the first scientist to connect brain cells to a silicon chip, creating the world's first neurochip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Károly Bezdek</span> Hungarian-Canadian mathematician

Károly Bezdek is a Hungarian-Canadian mathematician. He is a professor as well as a Canada Research Chair of mathematics and the director of the Centre for Computational and Discrete Geometry at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Also he is a professor of mathematics at the University of Pannonia in Veszprém, Hungary. His main research interests are in geometry in particular, in combinatorial, computational, convex, and discrete geometry. He has authored 3 books and more than 130 research papers. He is a founding Editor-in-Chief of the e-journal Contributions to Discrete Mathematics (CDM).

The Schulich Leader Scholarships is a Canadian and Israeli undergraduate award program that provides scholarships for students enrolled in STEM areas of study. Established in 2011 following a $100 million gift from Canadian businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich and co-administered by the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, the program was initiated with the goal of producing STEM leaders to strengthen the economic competitiveness of Canada and Israel. In the inaugural year, 977 high schools and CÉGEPs across Canada put forward a nominee to compete in the annual award competition. In 2015, 1,250 students were nominated, fifty of whom were selected for the scholarship by one of the twenty participating universities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School of Public Policy (University of Calgary)</span> Institute at the University of Calgary

The School of Public Policy is an institute at the University of Calgary located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 2008, The school is devoted to public policy research and education, and is led by Martha Hall Findlay. Located at the University of Calgary’s downtown campus, it is home to over 60 full-time or part-time faculty and fellows. The school is organized into four policy areas: Energy and Environmental Policy, Fiscal and Economic Policy, International Policy and Trade, and Social Policy and Health. The school offers two master's degrees, a Master of Public Policy (MPP) and a Master of Science (MSc) in Sustainable Energy Development. SPP also offers ongoing education to policy professionals and stakeholders through two Applied Policy Outreach Centres: the Extractive Resource Governance Program (ERGP) and the Simpson Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy.

The Calgary Awards is an award given out annually by the Canadian city of Calgary. It is managed by the official citizen recognition program of Calgary and was established in 1994. It is meant to celebrate contributions done to the community by Calgarians. There are several categories, ranging from "Citizen of the Year", "The Award for Accessibility", "The Community Achievement Awards", "The Environmental Achievement Award", "The Signature Award" and the "W.O. Mitchell Book Prize". Recipients are honored at a ceremony attended by the Mayor of Calgary and members of the City Council which is televised Telus.

Kathleen Sendall is a Canadian engineer. In 2005, she served as president of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. Throughout her career, which began in Alberta's oil and gas industry, she has held technical and executive positions and has actively promoted the participation of women in the profession of engineering. She is a member of the Order of Canada.

Steven A. Murphy is a Canadian academic and university administrator. He is the fourth President and Vice-Chancellor of Ontario Tech University. Murphy previously served as Dean of the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University. He is currently a member of the National Research Council of Canada and chair of Ontario University Athletics.

Susan Bennett is a Canadian Professor of English in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Calgary.

Laleh Behjat is a professor in engineering at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

Marcelo Epstein is an Argentinian professor of Schulich School of Engineering and an adjunct professor of Classics and Religion of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Calgary. Epstein has made "contributions in the fields of continuum mechanics and the biomechanics of soft-tissue growth and remodelling".

References

  1. ↑ "Celebrating 50 years: International student services launched in 1974". UToday - University of Calgary. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. ↑ "UCalgary Profiles;". ucalgary.ca. 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  3. ↑ "UCalgary's Janaka Ruwanpura wins Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award;". ucalgary.ca. 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  4. ↑ "Janaka Ruwanpura;". canadianimmigrant.ca. 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  5. 1 2 3 "SLF Wall of Fame". 23 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "AACE International Source June 2013".
  7. 1 2 https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-janaka-ruwanpura-phd-peng-6a118a5%5B%5D
  8. ↑ https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/disclosure-divulgation/grants-subventions/2007.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  9. ↑ https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/disclosure-divulgation/grants-subventions/2012/third_quarter.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  10. ↑ https://schulich.ucalgary.ca/profiles/janaka-ruwanpura>
  11. ↑ "University of Calgary aims to double international student enrolment, exchange programs | Metro News". Metronews.ca. 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  12. ↑ "Janaka Ruwanpura reappointed vice-provost (international);". ucalgary.ca. 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  13. ↑ "University of Calgary International;". ucalgary.ca. 2020-09-14. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  14. ↑ "Canadian Society for Civil Engineering honours Schulich professors - Schulich School of Engineering - University of Calgary". 19 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "Constructive contributions to building profession earn industry honors". www.asu.edu. 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  16. ↑ "4 UCalgary faculty named Canadian Academy of Engineering, Fellows". www.ucalgary.ca. 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  17. ↑ "5 Schulich researchers to be inducted as Engineering Institute of Canada Fellows". www.ucalgary.ca. 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  18. ↑ "Janaka Ruwanpura | Schulich School of Engineering | University of Calgary". Schulich.ucalgary.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  19. ↑ "Janaka Ruwanpura elected chair of advocacy group's international commission". ucalgary.ca. 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  20. ↑ "Board of Directors - CBIE". cbie.ca/. 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  21. ↑ http://www.cms.aaceimontreal.org/media/pdf/Productivity_Janaka_Presentation.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  22. ↑ "4 UCalgary leaders receive 2023 Immigrants of Distinction Awards". ucalgary.ca/. 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  23. ↑ "The PIE Leadership Digest Report 50 voices of 2023 North America" (PDF). www.presidentsalliance.org/. 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  24. ↑ "Janaka Ruwanpura". canadianimmigrant.ca/. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  25. ↑ "Janaka Ruwanpura receives international leadership award". ucalgary.ca/. 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  26. ↑ "Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura awarded the CBIE Board of Directors Leadership Award". YouTube . 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  27. ↑ "Recognizing outstanding achievements by Calgarians – The Calgary Awards". calgary.ca/. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  28. ↑ "The International Achievement Award 2019 Calgary Awards Janaka Ruwanpura". YouTube . 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  29. ↑ "UCalgary's Vice-Provost (International) acknowledged for exemplary leadership in global education and research | UToday | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. 2019-03-12. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  30. ↑ "Distinguished service and excellence in civil engineering and construction at ASU earn honors; Arizona Impact; Arizona State University". asu.edu. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  31. ↑ "Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura". Immigrants of Distinction. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  32. ↑ "AACE International - Scholarships/Awards - Awards - Brian D. Dunfield Educational Service Award".
  33. ↑ "University of Calgary wins five science and technology awards | UToday | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  34. ↑ "Research Achievement Award, Individual". Schulich School of Engineering. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  35. ↑ "Graduate Educator Awards, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary". schulich.ucalgary.ca/. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  36. ↑ https://www.ucalgary.ca/en/Press_Release/2006/Ruwanpura-InternationalizationAward-Dec2006.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  37. ↑ "Service Excellence Awards, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary". schulich.ucalgary.ca/. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  38. ↑ "Janaka Ruwanpura". Janaka Ruwanpura. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  39. ↑ "Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura appointed Vice-Provost (International) | News & Events | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  40. ↑ "APLU Names University of Calgary 2017 Institutional Award for Global Learning, Research, & Engagement Winner;". aplu.org. 2017-11-12. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  41. ↑ "University of Calgary named 2017 Institutional Award Winner for Global Learning, Research, and Engagement;". ucalgary.ca. 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  42. ↑ "(CBIE) announces the winners of its 2016 Excellence Awards - CBIE;". cbie.ca. 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  43. ↑ "2016 Canada China Business Excellence Awards;". www.ccbc.com. 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  44. ↑ "(CBIE) 2019 EXCELLENCE AWARDS RECIPIENTS;". cbie.ca. 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  45. ↑ "UCalgary International wins Catalyst Award;". ucalgary.ca. 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  46. ↑ "INNOVATION AWARD IN INTERNATIONALIZATION ;". www.aieaworld.org. 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  47. ↑ "UCalgary takes home repeat internationalization award for innovation;". ucalgary.ca. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  48. ↑ "New partnerships in China pave way for dual-degree program | UToday | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  49. ↑ "University and Kerui Group create energy research, training site in China | University of Calgary International | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  50. ↑ Andrei, Daniela (2016-01-21). "University helps Mexico implement ambitious energy reforms | UToday | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  51. ↑ Staff, University Relations (2017-03-14). "$44 million in funding awarded for research partnerships in Mexico; UToday | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
  52. ↑ Daniela Andrei. "International Office announces more grants for students, faculty and staff | University of Calgary International | University of Calgary". Ucalgary.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-20.

General references

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.