Shanmuganathan Vasanthapriyan

Shanmuganathan Vasanthapriyan is a Sri Lankan academic and computer scientist. He is a senior professor in computing at Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, where he has served as dean of the Faculty of Computing. He has also held leadership roles within professional organisations, including serving as chair of the IEEE Sri Lanka Section.

Early life and education

Vasanthapriyan was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Peradeniya and later completed postgraduate studies at Eindhoven University of Technology and Wuhan University of Technology.

Research

Vasanthapriyan's research encompasses intelligent systems, social media analytics, knowledge management, and software engineering.

Selected publications

• S. Vasanthapriyan, J. Tian, D. Zhao, S. Xiong, & J. Xiang (2017). "An Ontology-Based Knowledge Sharing Portal for Software Testing." In *2017 IEEE International Conference on Software Quality, Reliability and Security Companion (QRS-C)*, pp. 47-479.
• Dissanayaka, D. M. S. H. & Vasanthapriyan, S. (2020). "Smart Solid Waste Management - a Scientific Literature Review." The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, 46(4), 606-619.
• Vasanthapriyan, S., Tian, J., & Xiang, J. (2015). "A Survey on Knowledge Management in Software Engineering." In 2015 IEEE International Conference on Software Quality, Reliability and Security Companion (QRS-C), pp. 237-244.
• S. Thuseethan & S. Vasanthapriyan (2015). "Social media as a new trend in Sri Lankan digital journalism: a surveillance." Asian Social Science, 11(10), 86-93.
• Probodha, J., & Vasanthapriyan, S. (2019, December). Analysis of Knowledge Sharing Barriers in Sri Lankan Software Companies. International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM), 15(4), 78-93. doi:10.4018/IJKM.2019100105.

Awards and honours

In 2022, Vasanthapriyan received the 'ICT Educator of the Year' award from the Computer Society of Sri Lanka.

In 2023, he received the 'ICT Leader of the Year' award from the Computer Society of Sri Lanka.

Professional service

In 2025, Vasanthapriyan served as a judge for special award categories at the National ICT Awards (NBQSA).

He has served in leadership and committee roles within professional societies, including the IEEE Sri Lanka Section and the IEEE Computer Society Sri Lanka Chapter.

He has also served on national academic committees in Sri Lanka, including the University Grants Commission's Standing Committee in Computing and panels involved in programme review and academic promotions in computing-related fields.

He serves as chairperson of the General Research Committee of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science.

He is listed as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, a biannual peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science.

He has held technical programme leadership roles at IEEE-affiliated conferences, including serving as Technical Programme Committee Chair for the International Conference on Advanced Research in Computing in 2022 and 2023.

Public engagement

In July 2024, Vasanthapriyan moderated a panel discussion on generative artificial intelligence in Sri Lankan higher education at a webinar organised by the Lanka Education and Research Network, the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, the IEEE Sri Lanka Section, and the IEEE Computer Society Sri Lanka Chapter.

In 2025, he was a speaker at the IEEE Young Protégé Summit.

He was featured as a speaker at the SLSWCS 2025 IEEE event focusing on global connectivity and technology innovation.

He participated as a panel member at IEEE Day 2025, discussing the role of IEEE in bridging academia and industry.

He was mentioned as chief guest at SLIIT's Robofest 2025, highlighting his engagement with broader STEM education initiatives.

Media coverage

In 2025, Vasanthapriyan was featured on an episode of the SBS Tamil podcast titled "The one to establish a separate faculty for computer science in Sri Lanka."