{"id":71471,"date":"2025-10-08T08:06:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T12:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=71471"},"modified":"2025-10-14T08:35:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T12:35:53","slug":"how-a-utc-mathematician-is-helping-elephants-find-their-way-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/how-a-utc-mathematician-is-helping-elephants-find-their-way-home\/","title":{"rendered":"How a UTC mathematician is helping elephants find their way home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Associate

Associate Professor Lakmali Weerasena stands in front of several elephants during her visit to an elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka. Photo courtesy of Dr. Lakmali Weerasena.<\/p><\/div>\n

Dr. Lakmali Weerasena, an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, spent her professional development leave designing elephant corridors in her native Sri Lanka to help prevent human-animal conflict.<\/p>\n

Weerasena utilizes operations research, a subject that led to her thesis on the application of mathematical modeling in conservation biology, to determine which areas of land to create corridors to help elephants travel safely away from human contact.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuman-elephant conflict is a huge problem because they always come to the residential areas and people also harm elephants,\u201d she said. \u201cThe main issue is that there are no proper corridors for them to walk. There are some corridors and the government is introducing new corridors, but it\u2019s an active research problem in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thinking whether I can support that by applying the model I developed for providing corridors to reduce this human-elephant conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

A member of the UTC faculty since 2016, Weerasena teaches courses focused on applied mathematics, which is related to operations research and her work in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an applied mathematics course and I always give students an opportunity to work on a project,\u201d she said. \u201cI want them to apply the techniques they learn in class to a certain real-world problem. They are free to select a problem from reality. They can pick the problem from home, workplace or school. But they need to apply the techniques they learned in the classroom to solve that real-world issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cOptimization is something we use without knowing the techniques every day. We wake up in the morning and need to do many things: we need to eat, wash and go to work. We have many goals, and we always need to plan the best way to achieve them. That\u2019s a multi-objective optimization problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to her work in Sri Lanka, Weerasena mentors multiple Ph.D. students in conservation biology. For example, one student is currently developing a mathematical model to stop invasive plants from spreading in the Chattanooga area.<\/p>\n

Dr. Chris Cox, professor and head of the UTC Department of Mathematics, cited a common real-world problem as an example of the work done in this field.<\/p>\n

Cox described a UPS delivery driver and how they hypothetically make 100 stops a day, which he referred to as the \u201ctraveling salesperson problem.\u201d The goal is to make the most efficient route possible, utilizing operations research and applied mathematics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is an integral part of math,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m an applied mathematician. I\u2019m a numerical analyst. Most of my career and research has been taking problems from science and engineering, and figuring out how to do the same predictive modeling with them. That\u2019s what she does in the sense of these optimization problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Two

Photo courtesy of Dr. Lakmali Weerasena<\/p><\/div>\n

Instead of door-to-door deliveries, Weerasena is optimizing elephant travel.<\/p>\n

She was introduced to the concept during her undergraduate studies in Sri Lanka. The topic piqued her interest due to its practical applications. She further pursued operations research during her master\u2019s and doctoral degrees at Clemson University.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took so many courses related to operations research because I saw applications,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her thesis, focusing on conservation biology\u2014which relates directly to her current work in Sri Lanka\u2014has led her to some interesting conclusions, including the necessity for water specifically for elephants.<\/p>\n

She explained that the water isn\u2019t just for drinking. Elephants are prone to overheating due to their large frames.<\/p>\n

\u201cElephants generate lots of heat and their bigger ear flaps help them to reduce that heat, taking it away from the body,\u201d Weerasena explained. \u201cBased on my experience, elephants need water not just for survival and not for drinking, but they need large water resources to play with to reduce their body heat. With my model, I have the freedom to adjust parameters to include new things.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter analyzing the geographical region, when I design the corridor, if there\u2019s a large water resource, I\u2019m definitely trying to add that to the corridor. I\u2019m trying to save that for elephants, not for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her professional development leave, Weerasena said she realized the significance of her goal while visiting an elephant orphanage with her family.<\/p>\n

Cox expressed that these opportunities help explain why math is essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps remind us why we\u2019re here but it also encourages other folks just to see how important math is and what it can be used for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said seeing students and faculty following their passion for math is the most rewarding part of the job.<\/p>\n

Weerasena said she doesn\u2019t know if the elephant corridors will actually be built but feels grateful for the opportunity to share her knowledge with people who may need it in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have learned so many things here and now have the opportunity to serve the Sri Lankan community,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not physically there and I don\u2019t need to be. I\u2019m training people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC Department of Mathematics<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Multiple

Photo courtesy of Dr. Lakmali Weerasena<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Lakmali Weerasena, an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, spent her professional development leave designing elephant corridors in her native Sri Lanka to help prevent human-animal conflict.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2058,"featured_media":71476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10197,70,123865,61,7712,52,64,48007],"tags":[124348,123826,70237,124776,123829],"class_list":{"0":"post-71471","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-biology-geology-and-environmental-science","9":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","10":"category-faculty-and-staff","11":"category-graduate-school","12":"category-mathematics","13":"category-news","14":"category-research-academics","15":"tag-chris-cox","16":"tag-cultivating-a-culture-of-innovation","17":"tag-lakmali-weerasena","18":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","19":"tag-operating-with-excellence","20":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nHow a UTC mathematician is helping elephants find their way home | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - 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