UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Chandima Sudantha Subasinghe, a doctoral degree candidate in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, received the SME Ph.D. Fellowship grant from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME). The fellowship program is designed to support exceptional students pursuing academic careers in the fields of mining or extractive metallurgy.
“It's very competitive, the SME Ph.D. Fellowship is one of the most prestigious fellowships a metallurgical and mineral processing engineer can get in the world,” Subasinghe said. “I felt really lucky, because there are hundreds of applicants, and when you get shortlisted, you still have to go through a huge interview.”
With his win, Penn State students have won the annual fellowship award four times in the past six years, and Subasinghe said he was happy to continue the winning tradition.
According to Subasinghe, he initially did not see himself pursuing a career in academia and did not develop an interest in teaching until after he had already begun his career as a geoscientist at the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau in Sri Lanka. After six months, he received an offer from his undergraduate mentor to return to academia as a researcher, eventually earning the P.G. Cooray Memorial Medal – Most Outstanding Young Geoscientist in Sri Lanka in 2021. For Subasinghe, the award was an affirmation of his research skills, but it was his time as a guest lecturer that influenced him the most. Seeing the students' enthusiasm as he lectured, in particular, inspired him to reconsider his career.
“I always had the curiosity to seek, or develop, new knowledge, which has helped me become a good researcher,” Subasinghe said. “But to be a good teacher, you must communicate and inspire students to develop their own curiosity. I did not know I had that skill until I started receiving positive feedback from the students.”
At Penn State, Subasinghe has continued to develop his skills as a teaching assistant while pursuing his doctoral research on direct lithium extraction. His research has led to the development of new technologies, and two patent applications, that dramatically reduce the extraction time, energy use and environmental impact in lithium and titanium extraction.
His work as a teaching assistant earned him the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering in 2024 and the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award from the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School in 2025. He was also awarded the SME Mineral & Metallurgical Processing Division (MPD) Scholarship for Outstanding Graduate in 2025. For Subasinghe, the recognition and continued support from SME and Penn State made the application for the fellowship a success.
“I am so thankful for the support of my mother, father,, my wife, my advisor Dr. Mohammad Rezaee and all my mentors who have helped motivate me,” Subasinghe said. “But I am also thankful for all the opportunities I’ve received at Penn State, and from SME, to be a young leader and grow as both a researcher and a teacher. So, the recognition is amazing, but I am just thankful to have world-class facilities at my disposal, and the chance to give back and make a positive change.”
Subasinghe earned his master's degree in energy and mineral engineering from Penn State in 2024 and his bachelor's in mineral resources and technology from Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka in 2020.
SME is an international professional society of engineers, geologists, metallurgists, educators, students and researchers who serve the mining and minerals industry. The society through its more than 15,000 members seeks to advance the worldwide mining and underground construction community through information exchange and professional development.