Web Science and Digital Libraries Research Group

  In the summer of 2025, I was selected for Google Summer of Code (GSoC) , a program that introduces new contributors to open source software development. I had the opportunity to contribute to the Internet Archive , an organization I have long admired for its efforts to preserve digital knowledge for all. Numerous open source organizations annually participate in the program as mentoring organizations ( 2025 mentoring organizations ), and that includes the Internet Archive . As a GSoC contributor, I was mentored by Dr. Sawood Alam , Research Lead of the Wayback Machine and WS-DL alum. Over the coding period, our project focused on detecting social media content in TV news, specifically through logo and screenshot detection. My work as a contributor is documented in my previous blog post , while this post highlights the GSoC program and my experience in it. Becoming a GSoC contributor Becoming a GSoC contributor is open to any beginners in open source (student or non-student) wh...

In 2019, I packed my bags and flew from Sri Lanka to Virginia to begin my Ph.D. in Computer Science at Old Dominion University. I did not have a clear roadmap or any prior research experience; all I had was the hope that I would be able to figure things out along the way. After six years, I found myself diving deep into eye-tracking, human-computer interaction, and machine learning; eventually completing my dissertation in multi-user eye-tracking using commodity cameras, with the support of my advisor, Dr. Sampath Jayarathna , NIRDS Lab , and ODU Web Science and Digital Libraries Research group .        When I started my Ph.D. at ODU , I had limited knowledge and experience in eye tracking and computer vision research. After learning about ongoing research at the lab on cognitive load using eye tracking , I was fascinated by how we could use technology to better understand humans in terms of their intentions, focus, attention, and interactions with the world. Tha...

During September 14-19, I was honored to organize and participate in the Dagstuhl Seminar titled Open Scholarly Information Systems: Status Quo, Challenges, Opportunities . The seminar was held at Schloss Dagstuhl , a small castle-like computer science center in the west of Germany.  What is unique about Dagstuhl is that it is located in a wood, very isolated from big cities. The nearest town, Wadern, is 30 minutes on foot, and there is no public transportation. After landing at the huge Frankfurt airport, one has to take the train for 2 hrs from the regional train station to Türkismühle. Then you must take a taxi because there is no public transportation. Based on the recommendation of the Dagstuhl website, I had to reserve a taxi from Taxi Martin at least 3 days in advance. Of course, I had to reserve it again when I left at 4 am!  The whole building contains two parts: an old building, which was built 260 years ago, and a new building, built in 2001. The two buildings ...