Thilina Heenatigala

Thilina Heenatigala (he/him/his) is the Director of Communications and science communication lecturer at Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) in Tokyo, where he leads the outreach team and science communication projects and teach the graduate course. Thilina is also the Manager of the Falling Walls Engage Hub Japan. His current research interests are public engagement evaluation, science & society strategies at research institutions, and decolonising science efforts. He’s a member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) by supporting Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) and Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) to focus on astronomy outreach and education in developing countries. He also supports IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) as a reviewer for annual global projects on astronomy for development.