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Dr Soma Somasundaraswaran

Dr Soma Somasundaraswaran
Name Soma Somasundaraswaran
Position Senior Lecturer (Transport Engineering)
Section School of Engineering
Office Z432
Location Toowoomba Campus
Phone +61 7 4631 2511
Extension 2511
Email
Qualifications BScEng Peradeniya , MEng Asian IT , DEng Yokohama
Languages Tamil (accredited translator)

Dr Kathirgamalingam (Soma) Somasundaraswaran obtained his Doctorate from the Yokohama National University, Japan; Master degree from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand; and Bachelor Degree from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He is currently a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ) and a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) in Australia and International Professional Engineers Australia (IntPE(Aus)). Soma is currently working as Senior Lecturer in Transport Engineering, School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Prior to migrating to Australia in 2009, his eighteen years of academic involvement include Senior Lecturer at University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka; Senior Research Fellow at University College of London, UK; Visiting Scholar at University of Calgary, Canada; and Research Associate, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. He is currently teaching Transportation Engineering courses and conducting researches in Road safety, Highway Design and Traffic Engineering.


  • Transport Planning ( 120506 )
  • Transport Engineering ( 090507 )
  • Civil Geotechnical Engineering ( 090501 )
  • Civil Geotechnical Engineering ( 400502 )
  • Transport Engineering ( 400512 )
  • Transport Planning ( 330409 )
  • Urban And Regional Planning ( 330400 )
  • Civil Engineering ( 400500 )

Road safety: includes the application of statistical methods in Road safety analysis; in particular the interpretation of crash data, modelling the relationship between safety and roadway characteristics, the evaluation of safety effects of design decisions and implemented countermeasures, and the identification of a site’s potential for road safety improvement.

Traffic Engineering: includes development in modelling traffic flow behaviour, signal design and coordination, application of analytical and simulation techniques, formulation and testing of advanced operational strategies, the state-of-the-art traffic management, real-time information and control systems.

Transport planning: includes research on new concepts in planning, methods and technologies for innovating, enhancing and improving capacity and level of service of the highway, airport and public transportation facilities, thereby helping to reduce traffic congestion and improve the quality of services.


Registered Professional Engineer Queensland, (RPEQ)
Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng), Australia
National Engineers Register(NER), Australia


Member of the Institution of Engineers, Australia


  • Institute for Advanced Engineering and Space Sciences (IAESS)

CIV5704-Road and Street Engineering
CIV5705-Pavement Design and Analysis
CIV3703-Transport Engineering
CIV2701-Road Design and Location
CIV2702-Municipal Services
CIV2701-Road Design and Location
CIV3906-Civil Material Practice


25 Years


2 Years


Strand Leader – Geotechnical, Road and Transportation Engineering, USQ [July 2010 ~ June 2013 & 2015 ~ todate]
Program Coordinator, Agricultural, Civil and Environmental Engineering, USQ [July 2010 ~June 2011&March 15 ~ Sep 2015]
Head, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Ruhuna [2001-2004 & 2008]
Program Coordinator, Surveying Training Program, ADB Project, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka [2003]
Senior Research Fellow (Honorary), University College London, United Kingdom [2005]
Visiting Scholar, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada [2005]
Faculty Coordinator, Conflict Study Center, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka [2005~2006]
Unit Coordinator, Staff Development Centre, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka [2003 - 2004]
Country Coordinator, Low cost housing research project, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden [2003]


  • Transport Planning ( 120506 )
  • Transport Engineering ( 090507 )
  • Civil Geotechnical Engineering ( 090501 )
  • Civil Geotechnical Engineering ( 400502 )
  • Transport Engineering ( 400512 )
  • Transport Planning ( 330409 )
  • Urban And Regional Planning ( 330400 )
  • Civil Engineering ( 400500 )