About Me

I am passionate about leveraging data science, data visualization and analytics to uncover hidden patterns, drive informed decision-making, and develop innovative, scalable solutions that have a meaningful impact across diverse domains.

Currently, I am working as a Technical Product Manager at RozieAI, where I drive the development and deployment of AI-powered solutions, optimize product performance, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance user experience and business outcomes.

Previously, I worked as a Data Scientist at the Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah, leveraging advanced analytics and informatics methods in cross-disciplinary initiatives to improve clinical care.

I hold a PhD in Computing (Graphics Track) from the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI) , University of Utah (2017). Before that, I earned my undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (2009).

During my PhD research, I collaborated with Dr. Valerio Pascucci and Dr. Peer-Timo Bremer to develop TALASS, an interactive framework for exploring large-scale, time-varying datasets. My research also includes developing a scalable data-parallel halo-finder operator in PISTON and in-situ visualization and analysis of PSI simulations, as part of a collaboration with Dr. Chris Sewell, Li-Ta Lo, and Dr. Jim Ahrens at the Data Science at Scale team, Los Alamos National Laboratory. Additionally, I worked with Dr. Paul Rosen on Ray Graphs, a flexible framework for exploring space-time panoramas.

Education

  • PhD in Computing (Graphics Track) (2017)
    Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, University of Utah
    Advisor: Dr. Valerio Pascucci
    Dissertation Topic: Interactive Visualization and Exploration of Feature Evolution in Dynamic Data
    •  
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (2009)
    School of Computing, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
    Dissertation topic: Facial Emotion Recognition using a Neural Network approach

Publications

Conference Papers

Flux Effects on Helium-Induced Surface Evolution in Tungsten
[bibtex]

Karl Hammond, Ian Naeger, Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Li-Ta Lo, Dimitrios Maroudas and Brian Wirth.

In APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting, 2018.

Interactive Visualization and Exploration of Patient Progression in a Hospital Setting
[ pdf, ppt, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Yarden Livnat, Peer-Timo Bremer, Scott Duvall and Valerio Pascucci.

In Proceedings of the AMIA 2017 Annual Symposium, Washington, D.C., USA, 2017. 

Exploring the Evolution of Pressure-Perturbations to Understand Atmospheric Phenomena
[ pdf, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Alex Jacques, Bei Wang, Erik Crosman, Peer-Timo Bremer and Valerio Pascucci.

In Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis), Seoul, Korea, 2017. 

Tracking Features in Embedded Surfaces: Understanding Extinction in Turbulent Combustion
[ pdf, ppt, video, supMat, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Pavol Klacansky, Hemanth Kolla, Ankit Bhagatwala, Jackie Chen, Valerio Pascucci and Peer-Timo Bremer

In Proceedings of the IEEE symposium on Large-Scale Data Analysis and Visualization (LDAV), Chicago, USA, 2015.

Visualization and Analysis of Large-Scale Atomistic Simulations of Plasma–Surface Interactions
[ pdf, video, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Karl Hammond, Li-Ta Lo, Brian Wirth, Francesca Samsel, Christopher Sewell, James Ahrens and Valerio Pascucci

In Proceedings of the EuroVis - Short Papers, Cagliari, Italy, 2015.

Data-Parallel Halo Finding with Variable Linking Lengths
[ pdf, video, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Peer-Timo Bremer, Christopher Sewell, Li-Ta Lo, James Ahrens and Valerio Pascucci

In Proceedings of the IEEE symposium on Large-Scale Data Analysis and Visualization (LDAV), Paris, France, 2014.

A Flexible Framework for Fusing Image Collections into Panoramas
[Awarded Best Paper, certificate, pdf, ppt, supMat, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Paul Rosen and Valerio Pascucci

In Proceedings of the 26th Sibgrapi Conference on Graphics, Patterns and Images, Arequipa, Peru, 2013.

Interactive Exploration of Large-Scale Time-Varying Data using Dynamic Tracking Graphs
[Nominated for Best Paper, pdf, ppt, video, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Cameron Christensen, Peer-Timo Bremer and Valerio Pascucci

In Proceedings of the IEEE symposium on Large-Scale Data Analysis and Visualization (LDAV), Seattle, USA, 2012.

Emotion Recognition with Image Processing and Neural Networks
[ pdf]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi and Anuja Dharmaratne

In Proceedings of the 27th National Information Technology Conference (NITC), Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2009.

Journal Papers

Automating detection of diagnostic error of infectious diseases using machine learning
[link to paper, bibtex]

Kelly Peterson, Alec Chapman, Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Jesse Sutton, Brennan Ochoa, Barbara E. Jones, Vanessa Stevens, David C. Classen, and Makoto M. Jones.

In PLOS Digital Health, 2024.

A flexible framework for visualizing and exploring patient misdiagnosis over time
[Honorable mention in Dr. James Cimino's Annual Year in Review at AMIA 2022, link to paper, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Kelly Peterson, Alec Chapman, David Classen and Makoto Jones.

In Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 2022.

Corrigendum and Addendum: Helium flux effects on bubble growth and surface morphology in plasma-facing tungsten from large-scale molecular dynamics simulations (2019 Nucl. Fusion 59 066035)
[link to paper, bibtex]

Karl Hammond, Brandon Lee, Ian Naeger, Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Li-Ta Lo, Dimitrios Maroudas and Brian Wirth.

In Nuclear Fusion, 2020.

Helium flux effects on bubble growth and surface morphology in plasma-facing tungsten from large-scale molecular dynamics simulations
[link to paper, bibtex]

Karl Hammond, Ian Naeger, Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Li-Ta Lo, Dimitrios Maroudas and Brian Wirth.

In Nuclear Fusion, 2019.

Presentations

Demographic Characteristics of Veterans with COVID-19 by Wave
[link to paper]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Ariana Callahan, Christian Dalton, Tina Willson, Makoto Jones, Meg Plomondon, Tamara Box and Joe Francis.

HSR&D/QUERI National Conference, Baltimore, USA, 2023. 

Interactive Visualization and Exploration of Patient Progression in a Hospital Setting
[ pdf, ppt]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Yarden Livnat, Peer-Timo Bremer, Scott Duvall and Valerio Pascucci.

2016 Workshop on Visual Analytics in Healthcare, Chicago, USA, 2016. 

Understanding Feature Evolution Over Time For Large-scale Time-varying Datasets
[ pdf]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi and Valerio Pascucci

Doctoral Colloquium, VisWeek, Chicago, USA, 2015.

Posters

Predicting Misdiagnoses of Infectious Disease in Emergency Department Visits
[link to paper, bibtex]

Alec Chapman, Kelly Peterson, Wathsala Widanagamaachchi and Makoto Jones

In ID Week, 2021.

VisContest: Interactive Topological Exploration of Particle Ensembles
[ pdf, poster, bibtex]

Harsh Bhatia, Pavol Klacansky, Shusen Liu, Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Attila Gyulassy, Valerio Pascucci and Peer-Timo Bremer

In Scientific Visualization Contest at IEEE VIS, Baltimore, USA, 2016.

Interactive Visualization and Exploration of Tracking Graphs for Understanding Evolution of Features
[poster, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Peer-Timo Bremer, Valerio Pascucci

In SCIx: The annual research showcase of SCI Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2016.

Interactive Topological Exploration of Particle Ensembles
[poster, bibtex]

Harsh Bhatia, Pavol Klacansky, Shusen Liu, Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Attila Gyulassy, Valerio Pascucci and Peer-Timo Bremer

In SCIx: The annual research showcase of SCI Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2016.

Feature-Based Analysis of Large-Scale Data using Limited Resources and Interactive Techniques for Exploration
[poster, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi, Shusen Liu, Cameron Christensen, Janine Bennett, Attila Gyulassy, Peer-Timo Bremer and Valerio Pascucci

In SCIx: The annual research showcase of SCI Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2012.

3D Face Reconstruction from 2D Images - A Survey
[ pdf, bibtex]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi and Anuja Dharmaratne

In IEEE Digital Image Computing: Techniques and Applications Conference (DICTA), Canberra, Australia, 2008.

Graduate Thesis

Interactive Visualization and Exploration of Feature Evolution in Dynamic Data
[ pdf, ppt ]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi and Valerio Pascucci

Undergraduate Thesis

Facial Emotion Recognition with a Neural Network Approach
[ pdf ]

Wathsala Widanagamaachchi and Anuja Dharmaratne