Dr. Menake Eranda Piyasena is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at NMT.
He received his BSc in Chemistry from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and Ph.D. in
Chemistry from the University of New Mexico. He joined the Department of Chemistry at New Mexico Tech in 2013 as an assistant professor. He teaches General Chemistry and several Analytical Chemistry courses at Tech.
His research focuses on developing novel analytical and bioanalytical methods for environmental, biological, and chemical analysis. He utilizes Microfluidics and Fluorescence Spectroscopy to develop miniaturized assay systems. In addition to many research publications, he has several patents related to his research. He teaches “Survey of Chemistry” for the MST program, where he introduces basic chemistry concepts in a simple manner.
Students have a misconception that Chemistry is a difficult subject to learn. This makes them think that teaching Chemistry will be challenging. However, Dr. Piyasena believes that from his years of experience in teaching General Chemistry at the freshmen level, chemistry can be a fun subject if the instructor can find efficient and exciting ways to teach. One must clearly understand the fundamental concepts in Chemistry correctly and clearly to become a successful Chemistry teacher. Dr. Piyasena hopes that teachers who teach Chemistry at high schools will find his “Survey of Chemistry” as a tool to excel in their teaching Chemistry.