Sajeeva Abeywardena
Lecturer

Organisation unit

College of Engineering and Information Technology School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
Profile of Sajeeva Abeywardena

About me

Born, raised and majority educated in Adelaide; I have been with the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Adelaide University as a Lecturer in Robotics and Mechatronics since February 2026. After 8 years as a Postdoc and Lecturer at four universities in the UK; I joined Adelaide University at its establishment, excited at the prospect to ensure the rigour and world class standards I experienced as a student of the University of Adelaide are maintained for the future generations of South Australia - the Heaps Good State

My research aim is to develop technology for the benefit and advancement of society; specifically, applications with humans in the loop. Concurrently, I believe that the use of fundamental mechanism theory and mathematics is imperative to the development of elegant solutions to complex engineering problems.  My interests lie at the intersection of neuromechanics, biomechanics, control theory, robotics and physics-informed neural networks. Currently I am actively researching estimation algorithms for neuromotor assessment in human balance; the application of robotics to investigate causality of the neuro-diverse motor condition Developmental Co-ordination Disorder; and the development of wearable robots such as supernumerary robotic limbs to augment human motion.   

  • Best Reviewer, ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, 2023

Employment
  • Lecturer in Robotics and Mechatronics, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Adelaide University (2026-)
  • Lecturer in Robotics, School of Engineering, University of Surrey (2024 -  2026) 
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Human Augmentation and Interactive Robotics Lab, Centre for Advanced Robotics, Queen Mary University of London (2021 - 2024) 
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Human Robotics Group, Imperial College London (2020 - 2021)
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Medical Robotics Group, Bristol Robotics Lab (2018 - 2019)

Education
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, Laboratory of Motion Generation and Analysis, Monash University
  • Bachelor of Mechatronic Engineering (First Class) with Bachelor of Maths and Computer Science, University of Adelaide

Adelaide University
  • ENGM3000 Mechatronics Foundations (2026 -)

Associate Editor
  • IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (2025 -)
  • IEEE RAS/EMBS 11th International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob 2026)
Reviewer
  • International Journal of Robotics Research
  • IEEE Transactions on Robotics
  • IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
  • IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
  • IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics
  • IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics
  • IEEE Transactions on Haptics
  • IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics
  • ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics
  • ASME Journal of Mechanical Design
  • Mechanism and Machine Theory
Last updated on 04/02/2026 by Sajeeva Abeywardena