Meet Sri Lankan Researcher —Rukshan Maliq Azoor

What are you currently working on or worked on before?

My current research interests are in infrastructure deterioration, where innovative solutions are required to maintain and prolong the lifetime of aging infrastructure around the world, while also ensuring sustainability in new infrastructure projects.

My Ph.D. research was on understanding and predicting the deterioration of buried pipelines due to underground corrosion. At present, I’m also working on a project which is a partnership between several Australian water utilities and universities that looks into renewal and rehabilitation of existing pipe networks through smart linings. The frameworks and technologies developed through this project will slow down deterioration, strengthen and extend the lifetime of buried pipelines with minimum disruptions, unlike standard dig and replacement methods.

My past work involved aspects of mining engineering and coastal engineering, with some work experience on structural integrity testing and modeling of coastal infrastructure and urban drainage systems design following the completion of my undergraduate degree

I believe that multifaceted and interdisciplinary research that learns from different fields is the key to the new challenges we face today.

What encouraged you to pursue your research topic?

My background in the mining and geotechnical engineering, along with an opportunity to be involved in a current and relevant problem faced by the industry, with the right guidance from my Ph.D. supervisor motivated me to pursue my Ph.D. research topic.

What is the name of your current institute?

Monash University Australia.

Where do you find your best inspiration for your work?

Nature. I think we have still a lot to learn from nature, although most modern engineering marvels began as imitations or inspirations from the natural world.

What’s one of your biggest personal achievements so far?

During my Ph.D. candidature at Monash University, I received the opportunity to perform part of my research at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada, through a travel grant. With the new experimental results, I was able to uncover a relationship between electrochemistry and geotechnical engineering that is potentially harmful to buried infrastructure if not given due consideration from both fields.

This finding challenges the current standard practice of soil compaction in infrastructure projects.

I presented these results at the Brian Cherry forum organized by the Australasian Corrosion Association in 2018 and was awarded first place at the Brian Cherry Award for excellence in postgraduate research in corrosion.

You can find my research work and publications here.

What lessons would you share with a budding researcher?

Always question everything. Learn from fields of study different from yours and approach a problem from multiple angles.
When you are focused on solving a problem, work hard and find as many solutions as possible, then come back to it and reconcile all observations and results before arriving at your conclusion.
I also suggest keeping up with new technologies and software tools. This will increase your efficiency and you will save time to focus on planning and executing your research.

What motivated you to be a researcher?

The drive that I had to find answers to complex problems. I have always been inquisitive about things around me and tried to find simple explanations for various phenomena or practical solutions to problems.

Some of these curiosities can be found in my personal blog.

If there is a chance, will you help build research in Sri Lanka?

Of course! I am glad to volunteer in any program to help with research activities in Sri Lanka.

According to your opinion, what are the changes that the Sri Lankan education system needs to do, in order to meet the requirement of the international industry and academia?

I think the Sri Lankan education system has a high standard. The presence of top quality Sri Lankan researchers around the world attests to this.

One suggestion regarding university education that I would make is, to expand the research component in the final year of study. This will give students some prior training on research methods and also help them to work on publications before graduation.