Tilanka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater-OK. He is also a trained Architect from Sri Lanka with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Architecture from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, and a PhD from the Department of Architectural studies, University of Missouri-Columbia focusing on the application of tangible user interfaces in design education. He has worked as an individual consultant as well as in several different Architectural firms in Sri Lanka. As an Architect, Tilanka has worked in projects ranging from Highrise designs, Wild life parks, Zoo's, Hotels and personalized housing. He has taught in the Department of Architectural studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia and has also been a visiting lecturer and a design tutor at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.