Professor Mendis studied at Royal College, Colombo and then graduated from The University of Moratuwa. He received his PhD from the Monash University in Australia and worked as a Structural Engineer at Connell Wagner (now Aurecon) for 5 years before joining the University of Melbourne as an academic in 1990s. He is a well-respected academic with a solid background working as a Structural Engineer at Connell Wagner, designing a number of skyscrapers in the Melbourne city skyline and landmark high-rise buildings in the world. He is both a Chartered Engineer (Fellow of Engineer). He is a Professor of Civil Engineering in the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne and the Leader of the world-recognised Advanced Protective Technology of Engineering Structures (APTES) Group. He was also the Convener of the Australian Research Council’s(ARC) Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA) from 2004 to 2011. He is presently the Director of the ARC Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing (CAMP.H), which is providing leadership to the Australian construction industry to use advanced manufacturing and construction techniques to build modular and prefabricated buildings.
Professor Mendis has authored and co-authored more than 500 journal and conference papers,
Professor Mendis’ team has previously been awarded the Eureka Prize which is the leading award in Australia for the best science-based research in Safeguarding Australia In 2017 Professor Mendis was presented with the highest accolade given to an engineer for his service to the concrete industry in Australia. He was awarded the Honorary Lifetime Membership of the Concrete Institute of Australia.
Prof. Mendis has also offered his services to his motherland, and he is no stranger to both the Sri Lankan construction industry and academia. He provided the visionary leadership in establishing the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL) in 2009 and was the founder chairman. His expertise in high-performance concrete and the design of tall buildings has been sourced for a number of iconic buildings around the world, including Australia’s tallest building and South Asia’s tallest tower, Lotus Tower. He is also the Hon. Chairman of the Civil and Structural Engineering Consultants (CSEC group), which is the largest consulting engineering company in Sri Lanka. He has also delivered many keynote speeches and special lectures in Australia and overseas over the years, sharing his expertise in many fields. Moreover, he has supervised more than 60 students to obtain their PhDs at the University of Melbourne.