Experience

REEcycle

• United States
• Industrial Machinery Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Technology Officer and Lead Scientist

  • 2015 - Present

  • Co-inventor and the Patent holder of the REEcycle's Rare-earth reclamation technology. • Principal Investigator and co-author of $750K NSF SBIR Phase II Grant and ​$150K NSF SBIR Phase I Grant: "Sustainable Rare Earth Element Recycling from Neodymium Magnets"​ REEcycle Inc., a startup company with the focus on reclamation of rare earth metals from consumer electronics and industrial wastes using proprietary chemical processes. The processes use combinations of wet chemical and solid state techniques and recover metals as pure, reusable rare earth oxides. REEcycle creates mutually beneficial partnerships by providing a profitable & reliable revenue stream in exchange for a steady supply of rare earth products such as NdFeB magnets. By replenishing the resources locked within these materials, REEcycle provides a sustainable, secure, and less expensive supply of critical rare earth elements for U.S. based customers, ranging from REE wholesalers to government stockpiling agencies. As lead scientist, • Lead and oversee all of REEcycle’s technical operations. • Independently establish experimental and process plans. • Manage pertinent lab equipment and data analysis. • Commissioning of new lab and pilot plant process equipment and software. • Maintain lab supplies and chemical inventory. • Provide technical expertise to management. • Keep current in pertinent research publications and competitive processes. REEcycle's Awards: • Edison Award, USA – Best New Product Award in Energy Sustainability™ - 2017 – Gold • U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition (2014 July) – Grand Prize, Investor’s Choice Award and People’s Choice Award • Caltech First Look West (FLoW) – National Cleantech Business Plan Competition (2014 May) U.S. DOE – Western Region - Grand Prize



University of Kelaniya

• Sri Lanka
• Higher Education
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Senior Lecturer

  • 2017 - Present



University Business Linkage (UBL) Cell - University of Kelaniya

• Director

  • Apr 2021 - Present



Industry Interaction Cell for Computing and Technology, University of Kelaniya

• Sri Lanka

• Director

  • 2018 - Present



University of Houston

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Postdoctoral Researcher

  • Aug 2014 - Jul 2015

  • Evaluated and researched the solutions to the potential issues in scaling-up REEcycle’s main operational process from laboratory scale to pilot scale.

• Graduate Research Assistant

  • Aug 2009 - Jul 2014

  • Invented and implemented a novel, environmental friendly and efficient chemical process to recover rare earth metals from end-of-life consumer and industrial waste streams.• Designed and developed chemical methodologies for synthesis and characterization of novel inorganic-organic hybrid materials (metal-organic frameworks) with tailored physical properties, beneficial for energy and material applications• Synthesized and characterized 32 new organic-inorganic hybrid materials belonging to six families of compounds exhibiting magnetic, dielectric and luminescence properties.