Channa R. De Silva

Biography

Dr. Channa De Silva is a Professor of Chemistry<br>at Western Carolina University. He was born in Sri Lanka, an island in the Indian<br>ocean. He completed his BS degree in<br>Chemistry at University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka. Dr. De Silva completed<br>his PhD Degree in Chemistry at University of Arizona in 2007. He worked as a post-doctoral research associate at<br>the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington, Materials Science & Engineering Department at University of Arizona, and Bio5 Institute at University of Arizona. He started working at Western<br>Carolina University in August 2010. Dr.<br>De Silva teaches chemistry and carries out research in the areas of<br>nanotechnology, biotechnology, and computational chemistry. He carries out science activities and seminars at local schools. His hobbies include playing music and participating in volunteer activities.

Education

• Ph D, University of Arizona, Chemistry
• BS, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, Chemistry

Teaching Interests

Inorganic Chemistry, General Chemistry (lecture and lab), Organic Chemistry labs, Organometallic Chemistry, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, Bioinorganic Chemistry,

Research Interests

Nanotechnology, Inorganic Materials, Lanthanide and Actinide Chemistry, Computational Chemistry, Antimicrobial activity and cell toxicity studies of nanomaterials, <i>in vitro</i> imaging of human cells (including cancer cells) using luminescent probes, Solid phase peptide synthesis for developing peptide probes targeted to G-protein coupled receptors.