Sri Lanka Ranajana Dr Sarath Gunapala ( Sinhala:සරත් ගුණපාල) is a

solid-state physicist Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how th ...

, senior research scientist and group supervisor at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

. He works primarily in Quantum Well Infrared Photo Detecting. He is also a board member of Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector Technologies LLC. Gunapala lives in the suburbs of Los AngelesHe was born in Sri Lanka. After receiving his education from

Nalanda College, Colombo ''Āpadāna Sobhinī Panñā'' , motto_translation = Character Illumines Wisdom , established = , founder = Patrick de Silva Kularatne , type = National , grades = ...

, Gunapala graduated from

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

and

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. Gunapala was presented with Nalanda Keerthi Sri award in 2006 by his alma mater

Nalanda College, Colombo ''Āpadāna Sobhinī Panñā'' , motto_translation = Character Illumines Wisdom , established = , founder = Patrick de Silva Kularatne , type = National , grades = ...

.Effervescent thespian
/ref>

References

National Honours – 2017 held under President’s patronage

PRESIDENT AT NATIONAL HONOURS-2017 CEREMONY

*
Interview With Dr.Sarath Gunapala
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunapala, Sarath Living people Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo Sinhalese engineers Sri Lanka Ranajana Year of birth missing (living people)