Background
Dr Ishara Dharmasena is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, and a Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Research Fellow. He obtained his B.Sc. Engineering degree from University of Moratuwa (2014), and his PhD in Electronics Engineering and Nanoelectronics from University of Surrey (2019).
Following his PhD, Ishara joined 黑料网 as a ESPRC Doctoral Prize Fellow at the Wolfson School. In 2021, he was awarded a prestigious RAEng Research Fellowship to conduct research on wearable and self-powered health monitoring technologies, and simultaneously appointed as a Lecturer at the Wolfson School. Ishara has previously worked in the smart textiles and nanotechnology industries for over 10 years.
Ishara’s research focusses on nanogenerators, smart textiles and wearable electronics. His research has attracted more than £1 million in funding, along with publications in globally leading journals and conferences, and patents. Ishara has won several prestigious awards including the RAEng Young Engineer of the Year for 2024.
He actively engages with media and outreach activities, and he has showcased his work in Royal Society Summer Science, RAEng Innovation late, and many media channels including BBC and Sri Lanka National Television.
Qualifications
- Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching, University of Surrey, UK (2020)
- PhD in Electronic Engineering, University of Surrey, UK (2019)
- B.Sc. Engineering (Hons), University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka (2014)
Key Awards
- Royal Academy of Engineering Engineer’s Trust Young Engineer of the Year (2024).
黑料网's Young Engineer of the Year Article - 黑料网 VC Gold Pin (2024).
- President’s Award for Scientific Research (Sri Lanka) (2023).
- STEM for Britain (national poster competition organised by the UK Parliament) – Finalist (2023).
黑料网's STEM for Britain Article - Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship (2021-2026)
- The Outstanding Publication Award – IEEE Intelligent and Converted Networks Journal (2020).
- Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) (2020)
- EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship – 黑料网 (2019-2021)
- University Research Scholarship (URS) and Overseas Research Studentship – University of Surrey (2015-2018)
- Top Downloaded paper in Advanced Energy Materials (2018)
- ABTA Doctoral Researcher Award (First Place - Engineering Category), UK (2018)
- Energy & Environmental Science HOT Article (2017)
- MAS Award for the Best Overall Engineering Student – University of Moratuwa (2014)
- Gold Medal for the Highest Overall GPA (Textile and Process Engineering) – University of Moratuwa (2014)
- The Textile Institute (Sri Lanka Section) Gold Medal (2014)
Ishara’s expertise is on triboelectric nanogenerators, smart textiles, e-textiles, energy harvesting and self-powered sensing technologies. His work has resulted in pioneering theoretical platforms for the optimisation of nanogenerators and scalable smart textile fabrication techniques. Some of his recent projects are focussed developing “super-smart textiles”, clothing that capture energy from human motion and act as self-powered sensors and energy harvesters to monitor health, and textile based soft exoskeletons for musculoskeletal rehabilitation support.
A video exploring this can be found here:
Research interests
- Textile sensors for wearable health monitoring and sports applications
- Smart Textiles
- Electronic Textiles
- Electronic Skin (e-skin) for human-machine interfacing
- Theory, fabrication and applications of Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG)
- Wearable technologies for energy harvesting and self-powered sensing
- Soft materials and structures for healthcare applications
More details about Ishara’s research is available at his 黑料网 Research and Innovation page.
Grants and contracts
- 2023 – 2025: “Self-Powered Textile Body Area Network for Remote Rehabilitation Monitoring” (PI), Funder: Royal Society
- 2023 – 2024: “EPSRC-RTN: Texo-Skeleton: transforming everyday clothing into self-adaptable exoskeleton for musculoskeletal rehabilitation” (Co-I), Funder: EPSRC
- 2021 - 2026: “Triboelectrically Powered Super Smart Textiles for Wearable Health Monitoring” (PI), Funder: Royal Academy of Engineering
- 2021- 2022: “Optimizing Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerators for the Internet of Things (IOT)” (Co-I), Funder: National Research Council of Sri Lanka
- 2019 – 2021: “Optimized Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Self-Powered Electronics” (PI), Funder: EPSRC
Current teaching responsibilities
- WSC701: Sports Surfaces, Footwear and Garments
- WS50META: Individual Projects
- Visiting Lecturer in Smart Textiles (TT4480) – University of Moratuwa
Recent publications
- D.G. Dassanayaka, R.L. Bulathsinghala, B.T.R. Bulathsinghala, G. Lanarolle, N.D. Wanasekara, R.D.I.G. Dharmasena* (2024). Optimising fundamental knitting parameters for wearable triboelectric nanogenerators. Nano Energy, 126, 109688.
- R.L. Bulathsinghala, A. Ravichandran, H. Zhao, W. Ding, R.D.I.G. Dharmasena* (2024). The intrinsic impact of dielectric constant on output generation of triboelectric nanogenerators. Nano Energy, 123, 109383.
- R.L. Bulathsinghala, W. Ding, R.D.I.G. Dharmasena* (2023). Triboelectric nanogenerators for wearable sensing applications: A system level analysis. Nano Energy, 108792.
Selected journal articles
- R.D.I.G. Dharmasena, K.G.D.I. Jayawardena, C.A. Mills, J.H.B. Deane, J.V. Anguita, R.A. Dorey, S.R.P. Silva (2017). Triboelectric Nanogenerators: providing a fundamental framework. Energy & Environmental Science, 10(8), 1801-1811. (2017 Energy & Environmental Science HOT article)
- R.D.I.G. Dharmasena, J.H.B. Deane, S.R.P. Silva (2018). Nature of Power Generation & Output Optimization of Triboelectric Nanogenerators. Advanced Energy Materials. 8, 1802190. (AEM Most Downloaded Paper 2019)
- R.D.I.G. Dharmasena, H.M. Cronin, R.A. Dorey, S.R.P. Silva (2020). Direct current contact-mode triboelectric nanogenerators via systematic phase shifting. Nano Energy, 75, 104887.
- R.D.I.G. Dharmasena* (2020). Inherent asymmetry of the current output in a triboelectric nanogenerator. Nano Energy, 76, 105045.
- R.D.I.G. Dharmasena*, K.G.U. Wijayantha (2021). Theoretical and experimental investigation into the asymmetric external charging of Triboelectric Nanogenerators. Nano Energy, 90, 106511.
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Selected conference presentations
Ishara has delivered over 20 presentations in top raked international conferences, and following are some of the selected examples.
- R.D.I.G Dharmasena*. Scalable All-Textile Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Wearable Sensing Applications. Nanogenerators and Piezotronics (NGPT) Conference 2024, Madison, Wisconsin, USA (Invited Talk)
- R.D.I.G. Dharmasena*, R.L. Bulathsinghala, All-Textile Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Next Generation Wearable Electronics. European Materials Research Society (EMRS) Spring Meeting 2023, Strasbourg, France. (Invited Talk).
- R.D.I.G. Dharmasena*, R.L. Bulathsinghala, Multifunctional Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Future Wearable Applications. European Materials Research Society (EMRS) Fall Meeting 2023, Warsaw, Poland. (Invited Talk).
- R.D.I.G. Dharmasena*, Future Trends in Smart Textiles. The Textiles Institute of Sri Lanka Annual Forum 2019, Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Keynote Address).
External Roles and Professional Memberships
- National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), UK: Member of the Research & Innovation team
- Steering board member:
- Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET)
External Collaborators
Academic institutions:
- University of Surrey (UK)
- University of Porto (Portugal)
- University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka)
- Exeter University (UK)
- Ecole des Mines de Saint-Étienne (France)
- Tsinghua University (China)
- Soochow University (China)
Industrial collaborators:
- Regis Fabrics (UK)
- National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) (UK)
- MAS Holdings (Sri Lanka)
Public Engagement and Outreach
Ishara is passionate about public engagement and outreach activities to promote science & engineering, contributing to numerous programs in the UK and Sri Lanka. Some examples include:
- Royal Society Summer Science – 2023
黑料网's Bionic Bandages Research - Royal Academy of Engineering Innovation Late – 2023
黑料网's Innovation Event News Article
Ishara has also featured his work in various media channels through interviews and online articles, and some examples include: