Dayan Munasinghe

Background

About Dayan Munasinghe

Dr. Dayan Munasinghe is a Chartered Town Planner and Accredited Green Professional with over 15 years of professional experience at the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), Sri Lanka. His expertise spans disaster risk analysis and modelling, landslide risk reduction, resettlement planning, thermal and environmental performance, building performance simulations, drone mapping, system dynamics, gamification, socio-economic analysis, and the application of advanced tools such as GIS, Remote Sensing, MATLAB, and SPSS. He has made significant contributions to national projects on disaster risk reduction, resilience planning, and sustainable urban development. He holds a PhD in Disaster Risk Propagation from the University of Salford, UK (2015), a Master’s by Research in Thermal and Environmental Performance of Precast Buildings from the University of Moratuwa (2018), and a B.Sc.(Hons.) in Town & Country Planning from the University of Moratuwa (2009). In addition to his research career, Dr. Munasinghe serves as a visiting lecturer at the University of Colombo, where he teaches Programming for GIS and Hazard Assessment Applications. Internationally, he has represented Sri Lanka at numerous forums, including those organised by SAARC, UNSPIDER, KOICA–ESCAP, JICA, and ADPC across Asia and beyond. He has also provided expertise to consultancy projects, including the MOBILISE and TRANSCEND initiatives with the University of Salford (UK), LiDAR-based mapping for integrating climate resilience into water safety planning, and the preparation of Central Fragile Area Management Plans under the National Physical Planning Department (NPPD), Sri Lanka. As an active researcher, Dr. Munasinghe has authored and co-authored numerous publications in areas such as disaster risk assessment and management, landslide modelling, drought monitoring, drone mapping, resettlement assessment, and climate-resilient planning. He continues to lead projects on landslide resettlement, Child-Centered Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and resilient human settlement planning—integrating scientific innovation with practical applications to strengthen community resilience and promote sustainable development. For more information or inquiries, Dr. Dayan Munasinghe can be reached at dayan.munasinghe@nbro.gov.lk