Chanuka was a Researcher with the Data, Algorithms, and Policy (DAP) team at LIRNEasia. He holds a BSc (Honours) in Computer Science from the University of Kelaniya and has a keen interest in machine learning and artificial intelligence, particularly in the field of computer vision. During his time at LIRNEasia, Chanuka contributed to several cutting-edge projects at the intersection of technology and public policy.
His work focused on using remote sensing for public policy applications and developing machine learning datasets related to climate change and energy. He played a key role in the Lacuna project, contributing to data engineering efforts to build a machine-learning dataset on household electricity consumption in Sri Lanka. He also applied machine learning techniques to satellite imagery to produce geospatial maps used in climate studies, urban planning, and policymaking. Additionally, he explored the use of call detail records alongside remote sensing data to map socioeconomic status in Sri Lanka.
A notable achievement during his time at LIRNEasia was winning 2nd place at IEEE’s Standards for Secure and Trusted Learning Systems competition, held in Valencia, Spain.