APrf Guna Hewa Alankarage
Associate Professor of Water Engineering
School of Civil Engineering and Construction
College of Engineering and Information Technology
Welcome to Guna Hewa's homepage! Guna is a Civil Engineer and a Hydrologist. Dr Guna Hewa was raised and educated in Sri Lanka, completing her Civil Engineering degree there in 1994. Guna's introduction to the field of hydrology commenced when she completed her Masters in Hydrology in 1996, for which she won a prestigious Irish government Fellowship. The next step in Guna's career was moving to Melbourne to undertake a PhD at the University of Melbourne, which Guna completed in 2001.
Guna joined UniSA in 2003, and since then, she has been educating both undergraduate and postgraduate students in Hydrology & Water Resources Engineering. She has also been the Program Director for Masters of Water Resources Management, delivered through the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management (ICEWaRM) at the University of South Australia until 2014. During her academic career, she has supervised nine PhD degrees for completion. Guna has also been the Research Degree Coordinator (RDC) for UniSA STEM since 2016.
Ungauged catchment predictions, Flood and Low Flow Hydrology, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), Hydrological Losses and Catchment Modelling, Reclaimed Water for Irrigation, Soil Hydrology, Efficent Irrigation, Land-use Change and Climate Change Impacts on Catchment Hydrology.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 - ongoing | Associate Professor (Water Engineering) | University of South Australia |
| 2016 - ongoing | Research Education Portfolio Leader (REPL) and Research Degree Coordinator (RDC) | University of South Australia |
| 2014 - 2022 | Senior Lecturer | University of South Australia |
| 2003 - 2013 | Lecturer | University of South Australia |
| 2002 - 2002 | Lecturer and Research Associate | Victoria University of Technology |
| 1994 - 1996 | Graduate Civil Engineer | Engineering Consultants Ltd, |
| Language | Competency |
|---|---|
| English | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| Sinhala; Sinhalese | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 - 2006 | Queensland University of Technology | Australia | Graduate Certificate |
| 1997 - 2001 | University of Melbourne | Australia | PhD |
| 1995 - 1996 | National University of Ireland, Galway | Ireland | MSc (First Class) |
| 1990 - 1994 | University of Moratuwa | Sri Lanka | BSc (First Class Honours) |
| Date | Title | Institution name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Fellow | Engineers Australia | Australia |
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Improved Flood Estimation for Risk Mitigation in South Australia, SA Fire & Emergency Services Commission, 15/03/2024 - 15/03/2027
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Plantation water use and environmental asset management in plantation forests, Forest and Wood Products Australia, 05/06/2023 - 21/06/2025
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Cwth: Optimising the management of plantation, water and environmental assets, Forest and Wood Products Australia, 01/03/2019 - 15/12/2022
-
Ind: Optimising the management of plantation, water and environmental assets, OneFortyOne Plantations, 01/03/2019 - 15/12/2022
Courses I teach
- CIVE 3009 Hydraulics and Hydrology (2025)
- CIVE 5065 Design of Flood and Drainage Systems (2025)
- CIVE 3009 Hydraulics and Hydrology (2024)
- CIVE 5065 Design of Flood and Drainage Systems (2024)
Programs I'm associated with
- LHMI - Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
- LMCL - Master of Engineering
| Date | Role | Board name | Institution name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 - 2022 | President | Sri Lankan Engineers in South Australia (SLESA) | Sri Lankan Engineers in South Australia (SLESA) | Australia |
| Date | Role | Membership | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 - ongoing | Member | Engineers Australia | - |
| 2018 - ongoing | Co-Founder | Sri Lankan Engineers in South Australia | - |
| 2003 - ongoing | Member | Hydrological Society of South Australia | - |
| Date | Title | Engagement Type | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 - ongoing | Community supporter | Scientific Community Engagement | Sri Lankan Engineers in South Australia (SLESA) | Australia |
| 2002 - ongoing | Community supporter | Public Community Engagement | Adelaide Sri Lanka Buddhist Vihara | Australia |
| Date | Role | Editorial Board Name | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | Editor | MDPI Hydrology Special Issue: Advances in Flood Studies: Enhancing Data Collection, Rating Curves, and Hydrological Analyses | MDPI Hydrology | Switzerland |
| 2025 - ongoing | Associate Editor | Springer Nature; Geospatial Innovations in River and Catchment Geomorphology for Sustainable Water Management | Springer Nature | Germany |
| 2021 - 2023 | Associate Editor | MDPI Hydrology Special Issue: Climate change impact on Hydrology and Water Resources | MDPI Hydrology | Switzerland |
| Date | Event Name | Event Type | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 - 2025 | MODSIM 2025 | Conference | CSIRO, UniSA, University of Adelaide and Flinders University | Australia |
| 2025 - 2025 | 4th International Conference in Water & Environmental Engineering 2025 (iCWEE2025) | Conference | GCSTMR and University of Western Sydney | Australia |
| Date | Engagement Type | Partner Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 - ongoing | Collaboration | Department for Water and Environments |
| Date | Title | Type | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 - ongoing | PhD Thesis Examiner | Thesis Review | Several Universities Australia and New Zealand | Australia |
| 2005 - ongoing | Journal Reviewer | Journal Review | Varying institutions | Australia |
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