Illangasekare Tissa

Illangasekare Tissa holds the AMAX Endowed Distinguished Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, where he also directs the Center for the Experimental Study of Subsurface Environmental Processes (CESEP). He earned his BSc (Honors) from the University of Ceylon, M.Eng. from Asian Institute of Technology, and PhD from Colorado State University. His career includes roles at Louisiana State University, the University of Colorado, and visiting appointments at Stanford University and Peking University.

Research focuses on multiphase flow in porous media, subsurface contamination, and geologic carbon storage. He pioneered intermediate-scale experimentation to bridge laboratory and field-scale understanding. His work addresses societal challenges like post-tsunami aquifer contamination and chronic kidney disease linked to water quality.

• Editorial roles: Water Resources Research, Vadose Zone Journal, Frontiers in Water
• International collaborations in Europe and Asia
• Over 65 students supervised (PhD, MS, postdocs)

Awards include the Henry Darcy Medal (2012), Langbein Lecture Award (2015), and Prince Sultan Groundwater Prize (2016). He advises on nuclear waste management for the U.S. government and is a foreign member of Academia Europaea.