Ruwan Gopura
Ruwan Chandra Gopura is a professor attached to the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka and a former Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa. He was the Founding Head, Department of Medical Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Moratuwa. He is the former Director/Research of University of Moratuwa. Prof. Gopura is currently the Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies at the same university. He was the chairperson of IEEE Sri Lanka Section in 2020. He was the chair of IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Sri Lanka Section Chapter from February 2017 to February 2020. He was the secretary of the same Chapter from 2013 to 2017. Gopura was the secretary of IEEE Sri Lanka Section in 2015. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. Ruwan Gopura is a founding member of Sri Lanka Robotic Meetups. He is an editorial board member of reputed international journals. He won the IEEE Sri Lanka Section, "Most Outstanding Volunteer Award 2022 " at the IEEE Sri Lanka section awards held on 17 September 2022. He has been appointed as a Distinguished Lecturer of Engineering, Medicine and Biology Society of IEEE for the term 2025-2026.
Early life and education
Gopura was born in Damunupola, Kegalle, Sri Lanka and grew up in Kegalle in a family of six including his parents and his three brothers. He attended Damunupola Kanishta Vidyalaya and Kegalu Vidyalaya for his primary education and then attended Pinnawala Central College for his secondary education.Ruwan Gopura entered the University of Moratuwa for his university education in 2000. He graduated from University of Moratuwa with a BSc Engineering degree in 2004 and he obtained his Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the same university. He obtained his PhD degree in Robotics and Intelligent Systems from Saga University, Japan in 2009.