Sunday Jan 05, 2025
Sunday Jan 05, 2025
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Dr. Ajith Raveendra De Mel
Respected scholar Dr. Ajith Raveendra De Mel yesterday assumed office as the new Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (IRCSL).
This follows his appointment by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development.
De Mel succeeded Razik Zarook P.C.
Dr. De Mel has been serving as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Ruhuna since 2015 and a Visiting Lecturer at the Department of Mathematics, University of Moratuwa since 2018.
He graduated from Missouri University of Science and Technology in the United States with a PhD in mathematics with a focus on statistics. His academic accomplishments include a Bachelor of Science (Sp. Hons) in Mathematics from the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka, an M.Phil. from the University of Ruhuna in Sri Lanka, an M.Sc. in Mathematics with a Statistics concentration from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in the United States, an M.Sc. in Statistics from Sam Houston State University in the United States, and a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Data Science and Business Analytics from the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Dr. De Mel has held important academic roles, such as Senate membership at the University of Ruhuna and General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. Additionally, he has held the positions of Head of the Mathematics Department at the University of Ruhuna and Head of the Computational Mathematics Department at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. Dr. De Mel played a key role in developing the Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Financial Mathematics and Industrial Statistics at the University of Ruhuna.
He has also held positions at a number of international universities, including those of Graduate Teaching Assistant at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, USA, Visiting Assistant Professor of Statistics at Binghamton State University in New York, USA, and Visiting Teaching Assistant in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, USA. He is the author of many research publications in the fields of statistics, insurance, and economics.
In 2008, Dr. De Mel received the Outstanding Graduate Student in Statistics award from Sam Houston State University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics in Huntsville, Texas. Numerous awards from national and international professional associations, such as the American Mathematical Society (AMS), the American Statistical Association (ASA), and the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS), have been given to him in recognition of his achievements. He is a member of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Mathematical Society, and the American Statistical Association.
