Rohan Abeyaratne () is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and the Quentin Berg

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Mechanics Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT). He was the CEO & Director of the Singapore–MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (the "SMART" Centre), and prior to that the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Born to L.B. "Malcolm" Abeyaratne, CCS former Secretary to the Treasury and Enid Abeyaratne,Her spirit will live on in all those who loved her
/ref> he was educated at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

where he won the

Turnour Prize Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

in 1967 and was Head Prefect in 1970. Thereafter he went on to gain his BSc in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

from the

University of Sri Lanka The University of Sri Lanka (, ) was the public university system of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978. The university system was dissolved in 1978 and its six campuses turned into independent universities: the University of Peradeniya, the University o ...

in 1975 where he won the ''E.O.E. Pereira Gold Medal''. He went on to gain his MSc and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

in 1976 and 1979 respectively. Abeyaratne was Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT from 2001 to 2008. In 2008 the Governing Board of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centr

appointed him as its CEO/Director, a position he held through 2013. The SMART Centre is MIT's first, and to date only, Institutional Research Center located outside Cambridge, Massachusetts. Abeyaratne received the MacVicar Fellowship, MIT’s highest award for education in 2000; the Quentin Berg Professorship in 2001; the ''Daniel C. Drucker Medal'' from

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

in 2010, as well as its Fellowship in 1998. In 1996 he was made a Fellow of the

American Academy of Mechanics American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and later was elected as its President.

Publications

Among Abeyaratne's publications are; * Evolution of Phase Transitions: a Continuum Theory, Cambridge University Press, 200

(co-authored with J.K. Knowles) * Lecture Notes on The Mechanics of Elastic Solid

* Volume I: A Brief Review of Some Mathematical Preliminaries, 200

* Volume II: Continuum Mechanics, 201

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeyaratne, Rohan 1952 births Living people Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Sri Lanka California Institute of Technology alumni MIT School of Engineering faculty Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Sri Lankan emigrants to the United States American mechanical engineers Sinhalese people Sri Lankan engineers Sri Lankan academics