Subhani Medawela is a researcher in Geo-Environmental Engineering, and her particular area of interest is the experimental and numerical analysis of physical and bio-geochemical clogging of granular filters installed in Acid Sulfate Soil Terrain. The mathematical and numerical models she developed are beneficial in analysing the groundwater flow through the porous earth structures and evaluating the temporal reductions of porosity and permeability reduction in granular media.
Most of the mining sites and acid-sulfate soil terrain cause catastrophic environmental issues, and Subhani works closely with the industry to find geotechnical solutions to mitigate the negative impacts of groundwater acidification and the dissolution of toxic metals. Subhani has introduced design criteria for permeable reactive barriers (PRBs), a proven method to treat acidic groundwater, considering the coupled effect of biological and chemical clogging of porous media.


Education
- PhD in Civil (Geotechnical) Engineering, University of Wollongong Australia, 2020
- BSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, 2015


Working experience
- Post Doctoral Research Fellow-University of Technology Sydney (2020 _Presnt)
- Lecturer (Assignment basis) at Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka (July 2015 June 2016)
- Instructor at Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka (February 2015 to July 2015)


Awards
- ISSMGE Bright Spark Lecture Award – December 2022
- Examiners` Commendation for Outstanding PhD Thesis- University of Wollongong (2020)
- Coffey-UOW Award 2019: Awarded for the best postgraduate performance in Geotechnical research
- University of Wollongong International Postgraduate Tuition Award –IPTA (2016-2020)
- Matching Postgraduate Research Scholarship, University of Wollongong, Australia (2016-2020)
- Best Paper award in IESL NSW Chapter Engineering Excellence Awards,2019
- Finalist in AGS NSW Research Award to recognise outstanding research by students in NSW Universities -Australian Geomechanics Society, 2018
- The award for the best undergraduate research in Geotechnical Engineering among all Sri Lankan Universities, Sri Lanka Geotechnical Society Project Day, 2015
- Best paper award in ACEPS 2015 (International Symposium on Advances in Civil and Environmental Engineering Practices for Sustainable Development-2015)
- Award for the Best Undergraduate student in Geotechnical Engineering (2014).
- Award for the Best Undergraduate student in Transportation Engineering and Surveying (2014)