Abhaya Induruwa
Abhaya Induruwa () is the inaugural Professor V K Samaranayake Endowed Professor of Computing, University of Colombo School of Computing, Sri Lanka. Having served as the Director of Cyber Innovation Hub he recently retired from the Canterbury Christ Church University in the United Kingdom where he researched into security and forensic investigation of Internet of Things (IoT). Currently he is engaged in promoting IoT in digital agriculture as a disruptive technology, primarily in developing countries, leading to smart agriculture resulting in higher yields in food production. Induruwa is considered the father of Internet in Sri Lanka. Education After spending three years of his early primary education at Kahagolla Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Diyatalawa, he was admitted to Nalanda College, Colombo from where he proceeded to the University of Sri Lanka, Katubedda Campus. He is the first student to graduate with a First Class Honours degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering since the inception of the University of Sri Lanka, Katubedda Campus, and is the recipient of the Prof Om Prakash Kulshreshtha award for the Best Electrical and Electronic Engineering student in 1975. In September 1976 he proceeded to Imperial College London and in January 1980 he was awarded PhD from the University of London for his research on Computer Simulation Techniques in Power Systems Planning. His research supervisor was Emeritus Professor Brian J. Cory. Professional career Induruwa founded the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Moratuwa in 1985, the first and the only department of its kind in a Sri Lankan university, and served as its Head until 1998. In 1989 he pioneered and served as the Principal Investigator of project LEARN (Lanka Education and Research Network), which he developed into the academic Internet in Sri Lanka . He obtained funds from the Sri Lankan government and other well wishers, commissioned staff and resources, provided technical and managerial leadership, and led the project LEARN to completion in 1995. He also administered the .LK domain since its first registration in 1990 until 1998. Induruwa is a founding member of the Internet Society (ISOC - Kobe, 1992) and a member of the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter. He serves as a Member of the Advisory Group of the Asia Internet History project, and is a contributing author. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK, Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, and a Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society. Induruwa is a founding member of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (1976). In recognition of his services to computer education and IT industry in Sri Lanka the Honorary Fellowship of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka was conferred on him in 2003. In recognition of his signal contribution to the growth, connectivity, and use of the Internet in Sri Lanka, and for pioneering LEARN - the first IP WAN in Sri Lanka Induruwa was inducted to the Internet Hall of Fame 2014, an honorary lifetime achievement award