Dr. Indira Samarasekera (SAM-er-ah-SAKE-ah-rah) is the 12th president of the University of Alberta, one of Canada’s most respected research-intensive universities. Under her administration, many initiatives have been achieved at the University of Alberta, among them the development of a renewed vision and mission in Dare to Discover and new academic plan in Dare to Deliver; the establishment of the Killam Research Fund for the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Fine Arts; the redevelopment and opening of Enterprise Square ($86M); and the formation of the Schools for Energy and the Environment and Public Health. During her tenure the University initiated construction of the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science ($400M), saw the completion of the building of the National Institute for Nanotechnology ($60M), the completion of Health Research Innovation Facilities ($300M) and the initiation of construction of Edmonton Clinic ($950M) in partnership with Alberta Health Services.

Throughout 2008-09, she has presided over the University of Alberta’s Centenary, a year-long celebration of the university’s past, present, and future, which has included signature events such as the Prime Ministers Conversation Series, Homecoming 2008, and Festival of Ideas. Under her leadership, the University of Alberta has achieved and exceeded its Campaign 2008 goal of $500 million.

Serving the wider community in several ways, Dr. Samarasekera is a member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on Public Service and sits on the boards of the Conference Board of Canada, the Public Policy Forum of Canada, The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), MaRS Discovery District, and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. In June 2008 and May 2009, she participated in the University Presidents G-8 Summit in Hokkaido and Turin, respectively. 

A sought-after speaker, Dr. Samarasekera has addressed local, national, and international audiences on various issues in post-secondary education and research. She has been invited to speak to the National Science Foundation in the US and the Science and Technology Forum in Japan. Among other speaking engagements, she has also delivered the inaugural J.R.D. Tata Memorial Lecture in Mumbai, India, and the 2008 Eaton Lecture in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Over a professional career spanning three decades, Dr. Samarasekera has distinguished herself as one of Canada’s leading metallurgical engineers. As a Fulbright-Hays Scholar, she earned an MSc from the University of California in 1976, and, in 1980, she was granted a PhD in metallurgical engineering from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Samarasekera received the E.W. R. Steacie Memorial fellowship in 1991, awarded by NSERC to the top 4 researchers in Canada under 40. She was awarded the Order of Canada in 2002 in recognition of outstanding contributions to steel process engineering. Dr. Samarasekera has been a consultant to steel companies around the world.

Prior to her coming to the University of Alberta, Dr. Samarasekera served as Vice-President Research at the University of British Columbia (2000-2005). During her term, funding for research and infrastructure increased dramatically and she championed expanded support for technology transfer.

Dr. Samarasekera is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIMM). She has received honorary degrees from the University of British Columbia and Queen’s University Belfast.