Dr. Herath Gedara Chinthaka Pathum Dinesh
PhD '21
Governor General's Gold Medal
What was a highlight or favourite moment from your time at SFU?
I started my graduate studies at SFU in September 2016 as a MASc student in the school of engineering science. Due to outstanding research performance during the first four semesters of my MASc studies, I got an excellent opportunity to transfer to the Ph.D. program directly without completing MASc. During my Ph.D. studies, I received quite a few scholarships and awards from SFU and other international institutions.
How has your experience at SFU prepared you for your career path?
During my Ph.D. studies, I worked on two different research projects. First, I proposed novel approaches to forecast residential power consumption, which is crucial for optimizing energy usage. In the second project, I proposed several algorithms to enhance the quality of 3D models generated from 3D scanners. Research outcomes of both projects have been published in top-tier international journals and conferences. Working on two different projects for a long time led me to develop time management skill that is very helpful for me to be more productive in different research threads in my current employment.
What advice would you like to share to students in their first year?
As a Ph.D. graduate in engineering science, I strongly suggest first-year engineering students to learn how to think to solve given engineering problems rather than just learning how those problems have been solved before.
What are your current plans?
I am currently working as a research scientist in SFU’s School of Engineering Science, where I continue my research in graph signal processing-based 3D point cloud sampling and video super-resolution in a joint project with York University.
Read Dr. Dinesh's story on receiving the Governor General's Gold Medal >