Mrs. Sareeha Vasanthakumar
About me
Sareeha Vasanthakumar is a Ph.D. candidate in Water Engineering and Management at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, specializing in the optimization of multiple water uses and irrigation scheduling for reservoirs in the Malwathu Oya River Basin, Sri Lanka. She holds an M.Phil. in Limnology and Fisheries from the University of Kelaniya, a Postgraduate Diploma in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Peradeniya, and a B.Sc. in Food Science and Nutrition specializing in Aquaculture and Fisheries from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. She is an OWSD–UNESCO-TWAS PhD Fellow and recipient of the SLCARP Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research. Prior to her Ph.D., she served as a Lecturer at the Sri Lanka German Training Institute and conducted research on limnology, fisheries, and aquatic ecosystem management.
Sareeha Vasanthakumar is a Ph.D. candidate in the final stage of her doctoral research at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. Her work lies at the intersection of hydrology, climate change, and water resources modelling, with a focus on developing integrated approaches to achieve sustainable water management, climate resilience, and reservoir optimization. With a strong background in hydrological and reservoir modelling, Sareeha has extensive experience using advanced tools such as HEC-HMS, HEC-ResSim, ArcGIS, CropWat, and programming languages including Python and R. Her research emphasizes the application of machine learning techniques and process-based models to simulate watershed hydrology and assess climate change impacts on water resource systems. Her Ph.D. research contributes to improving water resource planning under future climate scenarios, combining physical modelling, data-driven analytics, and sustainability assessments. Sareeha’s overarching goal is to support evidence-based decision-making for resilient water systems in vulnerable river basins, particularly in the South and Southeast Asian regions.
Degrees:
Vasanthakumar, S., Shanmugam, S., Shrestha, M., Babel, M.S., Loc, H.H., Himanshu, S. (under review). Evaluating Bias Adjusted Aphrodite Gridded Data for Extreme Precipitation and Streamflow Characteristics: A Case in Malwathu Oya River Basin in Sri Lanka. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Climatology.
Vasanthakumar, S., Shanmugam, S., Shrestha, M., Babel, M.S., Loc, H.H., Himanshu, S. (under review). A New Bias Correction Framework for CMIP6 GCMs and Its Application to Climate Projections Across Sri Lanka and Streamflow Projections in the Malwathu River Basin. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment.
Nadarajah, S., Wijenayake, W.M.H.K., Gunawardane, N.D.P., Amarasinghe, U.S. (2018). Influence of hydraulic retention time and amplitude of water level fluctuations on water quality in irrigation reservoirs of the Kala Oya river basin, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 23(2): 187–200. DOI
Nadarajah, S., Wijenayake, W.M.H.K., Amarasinghe, U.S. (2018). Empirical yield predictive models for the fisheries of irrigation reservoirs in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 23(2): 201–208. DOI
Nadarajah, S., Wijenayake, W.M.H.K., Amarasinghe, U.S. (2019). Influence of hydrology on water quality and trophic state in irrigation reservoirs of Sri Lanka. Lakes & Reservoirs: Science, Policy and Management for Sustainable Use. [DOI: 10.1111/LRE.12283]
Wu, J., Nadarajah, S. (in print). Aquaculture: the interdependency of food security and the natural environment. In S. Cork & D.P. Whiteside (Eds.), Case Studies in EcoHealth (pp. 228–242). 5m Books Ltd.
Nadarajah, S., Wijenayake, W.M.H.K. (2011). Marigold flower (Calendula officinalis) and China rose (Hibiscus rosasinensis) as carotenoid sources on pigmentation of Poecilia reticulata. Proceedings of the 17th Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Abstract) p. 8.
Nadarajah, S., Amarasinghe, U.S., Wijenayake, W.M.H.K. (2014). Preliminary investigation of the water quality of irrigation reservoirs of the Kala Oya river basin, Sri Lanka. Proceedings of the 15th Annual Research Symposium, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. (Abstract) p. 92.
Nadarajah, S., Amarasinghe, U.S., Wijenayake, W.M.H.K. (2015). Effect of hydrological regimes on fish yield in reservoirs of the Kala Oya River basin, Sri Lanka. Proceedings of the 21st Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Abstract) p. 50.
Nadarajah, S., Amarasinghe, U.S., Wijenayake, W.M.H.K. (2016). Impact of irrigation on reservoir fisheries: antagonistic or supportive? Proceedings of the International Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences (IRSPAS 2016), University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. (Abstract) p. 3.