Pavithra Wijeratne

I’m a doctoral student working on a project focused on developing bio composites on the basis of non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPU) and nanocellulose, which is a joint doctorate offered by NIPU-European Joint Doctorate: a fellowship of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks. The project is guided by Prof. Qi Zhou of the school of engineering sciences in chemistry, biotechnology and health (CBH) - KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden and by Prof. Jean-Marie Raquez of the Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials (LPCM) - University of Mons, Belgium.

I obtained my master’s degree (bi-national) in sustainable materials, polymer sciences from the University of Freiburg, Germany and the University of Strasbourg, France. For my master’s research I worked on developing ultra-strong bio-inspired nanocomposite materials through layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly which was conducted at the France National Research Institute (CNRS), Strasbourg. Upon completion, I decided to engage in a doctoral level research to further my knowledge and experience in bio composite research.

Additionally, I’m an experienced executive in textile industry and have worked with one of the largest apparel manufacturing companies in South Asia, after graduating from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka in applied sciences - polymer science and technology.