Curriculum Vitae
Education
Ph.D. in Mathematics — Statistics Emphasis Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2017–2023 Advisor: Dr. V.A. Samaranayake Focus: Time series with conditional heteroscedastic structure
B.Sc. Special Degree in Statistics University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2012–2016
Academic Positions
Assistant Professor of Mathematics California State University, Bakersfield — August 2023–Present
Graduate Teaching Assistant Missouri University of Science and Technology — August 2017–July 2023
Teaching Assistant University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka — 2016–2017
Grants & Funding
| Year | Title | Role | Funder |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Air Pollution Disparities in California, 2000–2025 | PI | CES Mini-Grant, CSUB |
| 2024 | ELEVATE: Enhancing Learning Experiences Via AI Techniques | Co-PI | California Learning Lab AI FAST Challenge |
Technical Skills
Languages & Software: R, Python, MATLAB, SAS, SQL, LaTeX, Git/GitHub, HTML/CSS
Statistical Methods: GARCH-family models, time series analysis, Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood estimation, Monte Carlo simulation, multivariate methods, causal inference
Machine Learning: Random forests, gradient boosting (XGBoost), neural networks (LSTM, GRU-CNN), SVMs, k-means clustering, PCA
AI & LLMs: Custom GPT development, prompt engineering, local LLM deployment, OpenAI API
Cloud & Computing: JupyterLab, Google Cloud, AWS, CSUB AI Lab (GPU workstations)
Professional Memberships
- American Statistical Association (ASA)
- American Mathematical Society (AMS)
Service (Selected)
- Proposed Center for Applied AI & Data Science Innovation (CAADSI) at CSUB
- Proposed CSUB AI Essentials Certificate
- Planned and developed AI Lab (Science III, Room 214)
- Contributed to CSUB’s campus-wide ChatGPT deployment as part of the ChatGPT Project Team
- Member, Scientific Committee, CSU Mathematical Sciences Conference (2023)
Full CV available as PDF upon request. Email ayatawara@csub.edu.