Pasan Dissanayake

prof_pic.jpg

About

I am currently a third-year PhD student at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland (UMD), advised by Prof. Sanghamitra Dutta. My research interests lie in the area of trustworthy machine learning. I am particularly interested in developing novel strategies for reconstructing simpler and efficient models from larger, complex models while integrating explainability in this context. My research uses tools from optimization, statistics, and information theory to advance the foundations of trust and transparency. I also seek empirical validation of my strategies through carefully designed experiments.

I received BSc in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka (UoM) in 2021, where I graduated with a first class. Prior to joining UMD, I was a Lecturer-on-Contract and a Research Assistant at UoM. During this time, my focus was on wireless communication and statistical signal processing. My research adviser was Dr. Prathapasinghe Dharmawansa. My undergraduate thesis project was advised by Dr. Peshala Jayasekara and Dr. Ranga Rodrigo.

I was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award (UMD) for the academic year 2024-2025, the Dean’s Fellowship (UMD) for the year 2022-2023, and was included in the Dean’s List (UoM) in years 2017 to 2021 (all 8 semesters).

Interests

Explainability, Fairness, Privacy, Causality, Information Theory, Signal Processing, Travelling, Swimming

Contact

  • Email: pasand_AT_umd_DOT_edu
  • Mailing address: 2109 A.V. Williams Building, 8223 Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MD 20742

I am also available on the following platforms: