Nimesha Ranasinghe

Nimesha Ranasinghe is an Assistant Professor at the School of Computing and Information Science, University of Maine. Prior to joining UMaine, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore and New York University Abu Dhabi. With a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National University of Singapore (2013) and a B.Sc. (Honors) in Information Technology from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka (2007), Nimesha brings a strong academic and technical foundation to his research and teaching.

Dr. Ranasinghe’s research lies at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction, Multisensory Computing, and Augmented and Virtual Reality. He is internationally recognized for pioneering the concept of ‘Flavor Interfaces’, where computational algorithms are applied to augment and reimagine traditional food and drink experiences. His notable inventions include Digital Taste (Virtual Flavors) and the Virtual Cocktail (Vocktail), which have been widely featured by global media outlets such as The New York Times, New Scientist, Time Magazine, BBC Radio, Discovery Channel, and Reuters. He has published extensively in leading academic venues, including the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), the ACM Multimedia Conference, and the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. His contributions have earned numerous awards, most notably, in 2014, his “Digital Lollipop” was recognized as one of the ten best innovations in the world by the Netexplo Forum at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris.

His long-term vision is to redefine how humans interact with digital information by designing multisensory interfaces that extend beyond sight and sound to include taste, smell, and other human senses, paving the way for more immersive and inclusive digital experiences. Beyond academic research, his inventions have inspired new ways of thinking about the role of technology in everyday life experiences, influencing fields from gastronomy, interaction design, and entertainment to human health and well-being.

Awards

• Best Presentation Award, Future Technologies Conference, 2020 (virtual event)
• World’s First Virtual Reality Bar, Invited Exhibition, Future Tech Now and Virtual Reality Show, Business Design Centre, London, 2018
• One of the Best Hundred Young Scientists in the World, Heidelberg Laureate Forum, 2016 (http://www.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org/)
• One of the Best 10 Innovations in the World for Digital Lollipop, netexplo forum in UNESCO HQ, Paris, France, 2014
• 2nd Prize at Stanford University Longevity Design Challenge ($5,000) for Taste+, 2014