Hello, I'm
Kanishka Gunawardana
Computer Engineering Graduate
I specialize in computer architecture and embedded systems, designing hardware–software co-designs that optimize CPU microarchitecture and maximize performance. My work advances energy efficiency and computational throughput in real-world embedded and edge applications.
Focus Areas
Exploring the intersection of computer architecture, neuromorphic computing, and intelligent systems for next-generation computing platforms.
Computer Architecture
Designing and verifying high-performance processor architectures and domain-specific accelerators. I leverage hardware-software co-design to optimize performance, including implementing RISC-V (RV32IM) pipelines and integrating them into complex SoC designs.
Embedded Systems
Creating robust and intelligent embedded solutions for real-world applications. My expertise covers the design and implementation of real-time systems and low-power hardware, including firmware development and centralized hub design.
Neuromorphic Computing
Developing brain-inspired computing systems for next-generation Edge AI. My work with the PeraMorphIQ research group focuses on designing configurable neuromorphic accelerators, optimizing for state-of-the-art energy efficiency.
Education
Academic journey with exceptional performance in computer engineering and mathematics.
University of Peradeniya
Nov. 2021 – Present
Undergraduate in B.Sc. Engineering (Hons.) Computer Engineering
GPA: 4.0/4.0
Rank: 1st out of 486 students
Dharmaraja College Kandy
Nov. 2006 – Aug. 2019
G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination with outstanding performance
Z-score: 2.5661
National Rank: 149 out of 19,508
District Rank: 11 out of 1,189
Professional Experience
Academic and industry experience in computer engineering, research, and software development.
Temporary Instructor
University of Peradeniya | August 2025 - Present
Teaching computer architecture and embedded systems courses to undergraduate students. Mentoring research teams on neuromorphic accelerators and on-chip learning capabilities.
Intern Embedded Systems Engineer
Attune Integration (Pvt) Ltd | November 2025 - Present
Contributing to cutting-edge automation solutions integrating AI, Software, Electronic, Mechanical, and Manufacturing technologies for Industry 5.0 applications.
Research Assistant
PeraMorphIQ Research Group | August 2025 - Present
Contributing to cutting-edge research in neuromorphic computing and brain-inspired hardware architectures. Developing configurable neuromorphic accelerators for edge applications.
Software Engineering Intern
WSO2 LLC | July 2024 - December 2024
Developed Ballerina integrations including the OpenAI Finetunes Connector and ISO20022-to-SwiftMT message conversion systems.
Head of Web Development
Robotics Society, University of Peradeniya | 2022 - 2023
Led the web development team for the university's robotics society. Managed website development projects and organized technical workshops.
Research Work
Ongoing and completed research projects in computer architecture and neuromorphic computing.
SNAP-V: A RISC-V SoC with Configurable Neuromorphic Acceleration for Small-Scale Spiking Neural Networks
Nov. 2024 - Jul. 2025 | Final Year Thesis
Designed and developed a dual-core RISC-V System-on-Chip integrating a configurable neuromorphic accelerator with over 1k LIF neurons organized into parallel clusters interconnected through a hierarchical Network-on-Chip (H-NoC).
Validated the SoC on MNIST using Synopsys (VCS/PrimePower) and Xilinx Vivado, achieving 96.69% accuracy and state-of-the-art energy efficiency of 1.39 pJ/synaptic operation.
Supervision: Dr. Isuru Nawinne, Prof. Roshan G. Ragel
Optimized Multi-Processor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) Design for Low-Resource JPEG Encoding
IEEE ICAC 2024 | Dec. 2024
Designed and optimized a Multiprocessor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) architecture for low-resource JPEG encoding using six Nios II/e CPUs on Cyclone IV E FPGA.
Optimized performance using custom hardware components including FIFO queues, custom instruction blocks, achieving 2.8× throughput improvement.
Authors: K. Gunawardana, C. Adhikari, I. Nawinne
Featured Projects
Highlighting significant contributions to research and development in computer engineering.
RV32IM Pipeline Processor
Dec. 2024 - Apr. 2025
Implemented a 5-stage pipelined RISC-V RV32IM processor with in-order hazard handling, AXI-based memory integration, RTL power analysis (0.197 mW, 142 MHz), and prototyped on Virtex-7 FPGA.
Impact Tracking System For Athletes (3YP)
Nov. 2023 - Mar. 2024
Developed a real-time head impact monitoring system for contact sports using wearable devices and desktop dashboards, facilitating prompt concussion identification.
Contributions: Designed wearable hardware and firmware, established centralized hub and network, contributed to backend API and AWS deployment.
Field-Based Approach for Quantifying Plant Leaf Color
Aug. 2023 - Nov. 2023
Developed a mobile application with a backend that utilizes Image Processing and Computer Vision to objectively quantify plant leaf colour using Mask R-CNN segmentation.
Obstacle Robot Swarm for Swarm Robotic Project
Feb. 2024 - Nov. 2023
Leading the development and firmware update of obstacle robots with collision avoidance algorithms for the swarm robotics platform, enabling studies of dynamic obstacle scenarios.
8-bit Single-cycle Processor
Mar. 2023 - Jun. 2023
Designed and implemented an 8-bit single-cycle processor architecture in Verilog HDL with instruction and data caches, featuring a MIPS-inspired ISA supporting arithmetic, logic, and control operations.
Ballerina OpenAI Finetunes Connector
Aug. 2024 - Sep. 2024
Developed the ballerinax/openai.finetunes connector during WSO2 internship, providing seamless access to OpenAI's fine-tuning API through Ballerina.
Impact: Published on Ballerina Central with full documentation.
Digital Reporting Platform for Technical Visits
May 2024 – Present
Developing web and mobile applications for documenting technical service visits with real-time reporting, approval workflows, and comprehensive analytics.
Line Follow Robot
Oct. 2022
Designed and implemented a line-following robot using Arduino microcontroller with infrared sensors and PID control algorithms for smooth path tracking.
Publications
Peer-reviewed publications and contributions to academic conferences.
SNAP-V: A RISC-V SoC with Configurable Neuromorphic Acceleration for Small-Scale Spiking Neural Networks
- Proposed SNAP-V, a RISC-V-based neuromorphic SoC featuring two accelerator variants (bus-based Cerebra-S and NoC-based Cerebra-H) to provide a complete, resource-efficient platform tailored for small-scale edge SNNs.
- Demonstrated a 9.46x operating frequency improvement in Cerebra-H over Cerebra-S, achieving 1.05 pJ/SOP in 45nm CMOS while maintaining high inference fidelity with a 2.62% average accuracy deviation.
Neuromorphic Architectures for Edge-Oriented Spiking Neural Networks: A Review
- Conducted a review of ASIC- and FPGA-based neuromorphic architectures, highlighting large-scale systems are underutilized for small-scale edge workloads while small-scale designs remain rare; analyzed software frameworks and event-driven communication strategies to advocate for SoC-centric platforms for energy-efficient deployment.
Optimized Multi-Processor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) Design for Low-Resource JPEG Encoding
- Implemented an FPGA MPSoC JPEG encoder on Cyclone IV using Nios II/e cores; introduced lightweight custom hardware instructions and custom FIFO queues to offload compute-critical stages and reduce processor stalls.
- Achieved 2.8× throughput improvement; superscalar options were evaluated but deprioritised.
Recognition & Achievements
Awards and recognitions that reflect excellence in academics, research, and competitive programming.
J. B. Dissanayake Prize
2025 | Faculty of Engineering, UoP
Industrial Training Excellence
Awarded for outstanding performance and excellence during the undergraduate industrial training program.
SLIot Challenge 2023
Mar. 2024 | Team: IMPAX
1st Runners-up
Sri Lanka's biggest IoT competition
(100+ teams)
IEEEXtreme 17.0
Nov. 2023 | Team: Five4Five
Global Rank 374
24-hour programming competition
(16,500+ participants)
MoraXtreme 8.0
Nov. 2023 | Team: Five4Five
4th Place National
12-hour algorithmic programming
(400+ teams)
ACES Coders v10.0
Oct. 2023 | Team: Five4Five
12th Place National
12-hour algorithmic programming
(350+ participants)
ACES PreCoders v10.0
Sep. 2023 | Team: Five4Five
2nd Place University
6-hour algorithmic programming
(50+ teams)
ACES Hackathon 2023
Sep. 2023 | Team: LearnLink
Participant
Inter-university hackathon
LearnLink - Online marketplace for books
Technical Skills
Comprehensive technical expertise across hardware design, software development, and modern engineering tools.
Programming Languages
Frameworks & Platforms
Libraries & Tools
Developer Tools
EDA & Verification Tools
Selected Certificates
Professional development through specialized courses and certifications.
Machine Learning Specialization
Stanford University & DeepLearning.AI (Coursera) | Sep. 2023
Comprehensive specialization covering supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and advanced learning algorithms with practical implementations.
Engineering Drawing and 3D Modelling using AutoCAD
TecView Institute | Mar. 2021
Professional certification in engineering drawing and 3D modeling techniques using AutoCAD software for technical design and documentation.
Get In Touch
Interested in collaboration, research opportunities, PhD positions, or engineering roles? Let's connect!
Location
Department of Computer Engineering
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka