dr. C.M. Epa Ranasinghe (Champika)

I am a lecturer in Computer Science at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science (EEMCS). My current teaching involves Data Physicalization, Human-Computer Interaction, Smart Technology, and Research and Design for User Experience. 

I received a PhD  from the University of Munster in Germany and a Master's degree in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka. I also obtained a second Master's degree from the School of Computing, University of Colombo, and a BSc (Honours) degree in Statistics and Computer Science from the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka. Prior to joining the University of Twente, I worked as a Content Manager at Innodata (https://innodata.com) and as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka (https://uom.lk). I completed the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) and have obtained SEDA (UK) accreditation for teaching, learning, and assessing in higher education.

My research focuses on the overlapping areas of three fields of computer science: Physical Computing, Data Science, and Human-Computer Interaction. I do research that focuses on combining the strengths of these three fields to add tangibility and physicality to computing and to explore ways to integrate and embed computers and data into users' real environments. Thus, my research in this area spans along three main directions: Data  Physicalization, Tangible Learning, and Immersive Analytics.

My current research in Data physicalization focuses on multi sensory representation and perception of data. I explore various means and methods of aligning data representations with human perception to provide more graspable and impactful data experiences. In the area of Immersive Analytics, I explore ways of manipulating physical objects in immersive environments to augment data-related sense making. In Tangible Learning, I investigate ways to combine the physical-digital experiences and explore ways to add tangibility and embodied learning experiences to the classroom. In all three areas, Data Physicalization, Immersive Analytics, and Tangible learning,  I also focus on discovering, characterizing and evaluating the multidimensional aspects of "sense making", experience and impact.

Organisations

• Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS), Creative Technology (CREATE)