Buddika Peiris

Buddika Peiris is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where he also serves as the Coordinator of the Applied Statistics Master's Program and the Statistics Consulting Lab. His academic career at WPI has progressed from Postdoctoral Fellow (2014-2016) to Assistant Teaching Professor (2016-2021) and now to Associate Professor of Teaching (2021-present).

• BS in Mathematics from University of Sri Jayewardenepura (2005)
• MS in Mathematical Statistics from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (2010)
• PhD in Mathematical Statistics from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (2014)

Dr. Peiris's research focuses on developing new statistical methodologies with applications across various fields. His primary research areas include Order Restricted Inference, Meta-Analysis, Bayesian Statistics, and Actuarial Science. His work addresses complex problems in public health, weather forecasting, Food Science, and various industries where traditional 'ad hoc' methods are reaching their limits. His teaching philosophy emphasizes clear communication of statistical concepts, exposing students to statistical analysis structures, and teaching effective communication of statistical results to diverse audiences.

His publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to statistical methodology, particularly in constrained regression models, meta-analysis techniques, and Bayesian approaches. His work spans theoretical developments with practical applications in biomedical research, environmental studies, and industrial settings. The publications show a progression from foundational work on order restricted inference to more complex applications involving circular-linear regression and meta-analysis of cylindrical time series data.

As an educator, Dr. Peiris has supervised numerous graduate students through WPI's Master's program, with projects spanning healthcare analytics, financial applications, environmental modeling, and industrial statistics. His teaching portfolio includes both undergraduate and graduate courses in probability, mathematical statistics, regression analysis, experimental design, and specialized topics in statistical methodology.

Through his role as Coordinator of the Statistics Consulting Lab, he facilitates connections between statistical expertise and real-world problems across disciplines. His current research continues to develop constrained prediction intervals, diagnostic tests in regression, and applications of statistical methodology to forensic analysis and plant science.