Kanishka Gunawardana

Computer Engineering Graduate

Accelerated Computing | Hardware Systems | Computer Architecture | Embedded Systems | Neuromorphic Computing

I specialize in computer architecture and embedded systems, designing hardware–software co-designs that optimize RISC-V CPU microarchitecture and maximize performance. My work advances energy efficiency and computational throughput in real-world embedded and edge applications.

View Curriculum Vitae View Academic Transcript
Kanishka Gunawardana portrait

Focus Areas

Exploring the intersection of computer architecture, neuromorphic computing, and intelligent systems for next-generation computing platforms.

Computer Architecture

Hardware-Software Co-Design Domain-Specific Accelerators RISC-V SoC

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 (e.g., SNAP-V ). Focus areas include RTL power analysis , custom hardware instructions , and pre-silicon verification.

Embedded Systems

Low-Power Edge AI IoT Real-time 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. Key projects involved utilizing platforms like ESP32 and Raspberry Pi and managing system deployment and communication protocols.

Neuromorphic Computing

Brain-inspired Computing Spiking Neural Networks Edge AI

Developing brain-inspired computing systems for next-generation Edge AI. My work with the PeraMorphIQ research group focuses on designing configurable neuromorphic accelerators (e.g., 1k+ LIF neurons) , optimizing for state-of-the-art energy efficiency and on-chip learning.

Education

Academic journey with exceptional performance in computer engineering and mathematics at the national level.

University of Peradeniya

Nov. 2021 – Present

Computer Engineering B.Sc. Engineering (Hons.) First Class

Undergraduate in B.Sc. Engineering (Hons.) Computer Engineering

GPA: 4.0/4.0
Rank: 1st out of 486 students

Academic Transcript

Dharmaraja College Kandy

Nov. 2006 – Aug. 2019

G.C.E. Advanced Level Mathematics Stream Top 150 Nationally

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 Research Mentoring Computer Architecture

Teaching computer architecture and embedded systems courses to undergraduate students. Mentoring research teams on neuromorphic accelerators and on-chip learning capabilities. Contributing to curriculum development and academic research initiatives.

Intern Embedded Systems Engineer

Attune Integration (Pvt) Ltd | November 2025 - Present

Embedded Systems Hardware-Software Co-Design IoT Development Automation Industry 5.0

Contributing to cutting-edge automation solutions that integrate Artificial Intelligence, Software, Electronic, Mechanical, and Manufacturing technologies. Focused on embedded development and hardware-software integration to drive efficiency and elevate quality in Industry 5.0 applications.

Research Assistant

PeraMorphIQ Research Group | August 2025 - Present

Neuromorphic Computing Hardware Design Edge AI

Contributing to cutting-edge research in neuromorphic computing and brain-inspired hardware architectures. Developing configurable neuromorphic accelerators for edge applications and investigating on-chip learning algorithms.

Software Engineering Intern

WSO2 LLC | July 2024 - December 2024

Ballerina API Integration OpenAI

Developed Ballerina integrations including the OpenAI Finetunes Connector and ISO20022-to-SwiftMT message conversion systems. Worked on enterprise-level software solutions and API integrations for cloud-native applications.

Head of Web Development

Robotics Society, University of Peradeniya | 2022 - 2023

Leadership Web Development Team Management

Led the web development team for the university's robotics society. Managed website development projects, organized technical workshops, and coordinated with cross-functional teams for robotics competitions and events.

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 (Final Year Thesis)

Nov. 2024 - Jul. 2025

Final Year Thesis RISC-V SoC Neuromorphic H-NoC Energy-Efficient

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), enabling efficient spike-based computation for small-scale SNNs in low-power edge applications.

Validated the SoC on MNIST using Synopsys (VCS/PrimePower) and Xilinx Vivado, achieving 96.69% accuracy (within an average 2.62% of baseline) 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

IEEE Conference MPSoC FPGA Custom Instructions Pipeline Optimization

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. Implemented a pipelined JPEG encoder with stages for color space conversion, DCT, quantization, and Huffman encoding.

Optimized performance using custom hardware components including FIFO queues, custom instruction blocks, and evaluated superscalar pipelines, achieving 2.8× throughput improvement and significant resource efficiency gains.

Authors: K. Gunawardana, C. Adhikari, I. Nawinne | DOI: 10.1109/ICAC64487.2024.10851123

IEEE Xplore

Featured Projects

Highlighting significant contributions to research and development in computer engineering.

RV32IM Pipeline Processor

Dec. 2024 - Apr. 2025

Academic Project RISC-V 5-Stage Pipeline AXI Integration FPGA

Implemented a 5-stage pipelined RISC-V RV32IM processor with in-order hazard handling, explored AXI-based memory integration for SoC compatibility, performed RTL power and static timing analysis (0.197 mW, 142 MHz), automated the analysis via a GitHub Actions CI/CD workflow, and prototyped the design on a Virtex-7 FPGA.

GitHub Website

Impact Tracking System For Athletes (3YP)

Nov. 2023 - Mar. 2024

Third Year Project IoT Wearable Tech AWS

Developed a real-time head impact monitoring system for contact sports using wearable devices and desktop dashboards, facilitating prompt concussion identification, post-session data transmission, and comprehensive analytics for player safety.

Contributions: Designed wearable hardware and firmware, established centralized hub and network, contributed to backend API and AWS deployment.

GitHub Website

Field-Based Approach for Quantifying Plant Leaf Color

Aug. 2023 - Nov. 2023

Computer Vision Deep Learning Mask R-CNN FastAPI

Developed a mobile application with a backend that utilizes Image Processing and Computer Vision to objectively quantify plant leaf colour by analyzing information extracted from captured leaf images using Mask R-CNN segmentation.

GitHub Website

Obstacle Robot Swarm for Swarm Robotic Project

Feb. 2024 - Nov. 2023

Robotics Swarm Intelligence Arduino Computer Vision

Leading the development and firmware update of obstacle robots with collision avoidance algorithms for the swarm robotics platform. Integrating obstacle robots with the existing swarm platform, enabling studies of dynamic obstacle scenarios.

GitHub Website

8-bit Single-cycle Processor

Mar. 2023 - Jun. 2023

Verilog-HDL Processor Design MIPS-inspired ISA Cache GTKWave

Designed and implemented an 8-bit single-cycle processor architecture in Verilog HDL with instruction and data caches, featuring a memory unit and a MIPS-inspired ISA supporting arithmetic, logic, and control operations.

Developed a comprehensive testbench for verification and waveform analysis using GTKWave tool.

GitHub

Digital Reporting Platform for Technical Visits

May 2024 – Present

Group Project NLP Clustering Python TensorFlow

Developing web and mobile applications for documenting technical service visits with real-time reporting, approval workflows, and comprehensive analytics. The mobile app is utilized by technicians, while the web app is accessed by administrators to enhance task management and oversight.

Contributions: Optimizing the technician selection process for specific tasks using user-provided data through Natural Language Processing, Clustering and Searching techniques.

GitHub Website

Ballerina OpenAI Finetunes Connector

Aug. 2024 - Sep. 2024

Open-Source WSO2 Internship Ballerina OpenAI API Fine-tuning

Developed the ballerinax/openai.finetunes connector during WSO2 internship, providing seamless access to OpenAI's fine-tuning API through Ballerina. Enables customization of models like GPT-3.5-turbo for specific use cases including chatbots and information extraction tools.

Impact: Published on Ballerina Central with full documentation, enabling developers to easily integrate custom AI models into their applications.

Ballerina Central GitHub

Department Space Management System

Mar. 2023 – Jun. 2023

Group Project Spring Boot React.js MySQL

Developed a web application using Spring Boot and React for efficient reservation management of shared spaces in a university department, including waiting list functionality and user hierarchy for access control.

Contributions: Developed the backend API using Spring Boot and integrated MySQL database for efficient data management and retrieval.

GitHub Website

Database for Cricket Statistics

Mar. 2023 – Jun. 2023

Group Project Node.js React.js MySQL WebSocket

Designed and developed CricLive, a comprehensive database for cricket statistics, enabling users to store, manage, and analyze data on players, teams, and matches with real-time updates and interactive visualizations.

GitHub Website

Crossword Puzzle Solver

Dec. 2022 - Jan. 2023

C Programming Algorithm Design Backtracking Problem Solving

Developed a C program that solves crossword puzzles using backtracking algorithms. The program reads a puzzle grid and word list from standard input, applies constraint satisfaction techniques to find valid placements, and outputs the completed puzzle to standard output.

GitHub

Line Follow Robot

Oct. 2022

Arduino C Programming Embedded Systems Robotics

Designed and implemented a line-following robot using Arduino microcontroller. Utilized infrared sensors for line detection and implemented PID control algorithms in C for smooth path tracking and motor speed adjustment.

GitHub

Publications

Peer-reviewed publications and contributions to academic conferences.

Optimized Multi-Processor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) Design for Low-Resource JPEG Encoding

IEEE ICAC 2024 Conference Paper MPSoC FPGA Custom Instructions

Authors: K. Gunawardana, C. Adhikari, I. Nawinne
Conference: IEEE International Conference on Advanced Computing (ICAC) 2024, Colombo
DOI: 10.1109/ICAC64487.2024.10851123

View Paper

Recognition & Achievements

Awards and recognitions that reflect excellence in academics, research, and competitive programming.

SLIot Challenge 2023

Mar. 2024 | Team: IMPAX

1st Runners-up
Sri Lanka's biggest IoT competition
(100+ teams)

Organized by University of Moratuwa with SLT-MOBITEL and IESL

IEEEXtreme 17.0

Nov. 2023 | Team: Five4Five

Global Rank 374
24-hour programming competition
(16,500+ participants)

National Rank 24 (Out of 330 Teams)

MoraXtreme 8.0

Nov. 2023 | Team: Five4Five

4th Place National
12-hour algorithmic programming
(400+ teams)

IEEE Student Branch, University of Moratuwa

ACES Coders v10.0

Oct. 2023 | Team: Five4Five

12th Place National
12-hour algorithmic programming
(350+ participants)

ACES, University of Peradeniya

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
ACES organized

LearnLink - Online marketplace for books

Technical Skills

Comprehensive technical expertise across hardware design, software development, and modern engineering tools.

Programming Languages

Python C/C++ Verilog HDL ARM Assembly Java JavaScript TypeScript SQL Ballerina PHP

Frameworks & Platforms

Arduino ESP32 Express.js Spring Boot FastAPI Node.js React.js

Libraries & Tools

OpenCV NumPy Pandas Matplotlib PyTorch TensorFlow

Developer Tools

Git Linux Docker AWS

EDA & Verification Tools

Quartus II Nios II GTKWave Vivado Synopsys Design Compiler VCS PrimeTime PrimePower

Selected Certificates

Professional development through specialized courses and certifications.

Machine Learning Specialization

Stanford University & DeepLearning.AI (Coursera) | Sep. 2023

Machine Learning Deep Learning Stanford Andrew Ng

Comprehensive specialization covering supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and advanced learning algorithms with practical implementations.

Certificate

Engineering Drawing and 3D Modelling using AutoCAD

TecView Institute | Mar. 2021

AutoCAD 3D Modelling Engineering Drawing CAD Design

Professional certification in engineering drawing and 3D modeling techniques using AutoCAD software for technical design and documentation.

View Certificate

Get In Touch

Interested in collaboration, research opportunities, PhD positions, or engineering roles? Let's connect!

Email

kanishkagunawarthana@gmail.com
e19129@eng.pdn.ac.lk

Location

Department of Computer Engineering
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka