Academic Profile
Admin Roles
Activities
Teaching
Publications
Awards
Employment History
Academic Profile
Dr. Thanikasalam Kokul
- Ph.D. in Computer Science (QUT, Australia) [2019]
- B.Sc. Special in Computer Science, First Class (Jaffna, Sri Lanka) [2009]
Postgraduate Supervision
PhD
- Mrs. K. Janani, “Online Single Object Tracking using Deep Learning”, Reading for Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Moratuwa, May. 2022 – May. 2025. [Supervisors: Dr. (Mrs.) K.S.D. Fernando (UoM), Dr. T. Kokul (UoJ), Dr. A. Ramanan (UoJ)]
MPhil
- Mrs. Tharmini K, “Sri Lankan Paddy Leaf Disease Detection Using Deep Learning Techniques”, Reading for MPhil. in Computer Science, University of Moratuwa, October 2024 – October 2026. [Supervisors: Dr. (Mrs.) K.S.D. Fernando (UoM), Prof.A. Ramanan, (UoJ), Dr. T. Kokul (UoJ)]
- S.Subaramya, “Identification and Classification of Brain Diseases Using Deep Learning on Neuroimaging Data ”, MPhil in Computer Science, University of Peradeniya. Degree Awarded in October 2023. [Supervisors: Dr. R. Nagulan, Dr. T. Kokul, Prof. U.A.J. Pinidiyaarachchi]
MSc
- S. Lathagini, “Image Enhancement and Restoration in Foggy Scenes using Deep Learning Techniques” Reading for MSc in Computer Science, PGIS, University of Peradeniya [Supervisors: Prof. U.A.J. Pinidiyaarachchi, and Dr. T. Kokul]
- S. Pushpanayagam, “Underwater Image Enhancement using Deep Learning Techniques” Reading for MSc in Computer Science, PGIS, University of Peradeniya [Supervisors: Prof. U.A.J. Pinidiyaarachchi, Dr. T. Kokul, Prof. A. Ramanan]
- Mrs. T. Rajeetha, “Automated age estimation from face images using deep learning” MSc in Computer Science, PGIS, University of Peradeniya. Degree Awarded in 2024 [Supervisors: Dr. T. Kokul, Dr. U.A.E. Pinidiyaarachchi]
- Vijayakanthan, “Image Classification of pests from vegetable plant images using Deep Learning”, Degree Awarded in 2022. [Supervisors: Dr. T. Kokul, Dr. (Mrs.) U.A.J. Pinidiyaarachchi, Dr. K. Pakeerathan]
Resource Person
- Workshop on ‘Generative AI Tools for Office Staff: Boosting Productivity’ for the non-academic staff of the University of Jaffna, organized by the Staff Development Centre, University of Jaffna, 26 March 2024.
- Workshop on ‘Hands-on Generative AI Workshop for Engineers’ was organised by the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, Vadakkin Chapter, on 21 December 2024.
- Workshop on ‘Generative AI Tools for Officers’ for Development Officers and Management Service Officers of the Divisional Secretariat, Kopay, Jaffna, on 5 November 2024.
- Workshop on ‘Generative AI Tools for Academics: Hands-on Training’ for the staff of the University of Jaffna, organized by the Staff Development Centre, University of Jaffna, 19 September 2024.
- Workshop on “Latex: A document preparation system on exam paper setting and thesis writing” for the staff of University College of Jaffna, organized by the Staff Development Centre University College of Jaffna, 08 October 2024.
- Invited talk on “Introduction to Vision Transformers and Applications” organized by Google exploreCSR summer school on machine Intelligence, held on June 16th, 2024 at the Department of Computer Science, University of Jaffna.
- Workshop on ‘Introduction to LaTeX’ for the staff of the University of Jaffna, organized by the Staff Development Centre, University of Jaffna, 18 October 2023.
- Workshop on “Introduction to Machine Learning ” for the students of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Uva Wellassa University, 13 November 2022.
- Workshop on “Scientific Writing” for the students of the Faculty of Applied Science, University of Vavuniya, 09 July 2022.
- Workshop on “Introduction to Research Methodology and Machine Learning” for the students of the Faculty of Applied Science, University of Vavuniya, held in August 2021 which was organised under the World Bank-funded AHEAD Operations at the University of Vavuniya.
- An AHEAD workshop on ‘Accessing scientific articles’ for the students of the Faculty of Technology Studies and Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus. 2020
- Presentation on “Deep object tracking” for the postgraduate students of PGIS, University of Peradeniya. 2019.
- Special Lecture session on “Machine Learning” for the final year ACM students and staff of the Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus. 17th and 18th April 2019.
- Seminar on “Introduction to Deep Learning and Big Data” for the final year students and staff of the Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus. 1st April 2019.
- Presentation on “Introduction to Deep Learning and Its Applications” for the final year students of the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Jaffna. 14th July 2017.
Admin Roles
- Member of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL)
- Coordinator for E-Learning and IT Literacy at the staff development center, University of Jaffna 2023-Present
- Member of Curriculum Development, Review, and Monitoring Committee (CDRMC) of the Faculty of Science, University of Jaffna 2023-present
- Academic Counsellor – Faculty of Science, September 2023 to Present.
- Advisor: IEEE Computer Society (CS) Student Branch Chapter, University of Jaffna, January 2023 to date
- Senior Treasurer of the Computer Society (CompSoc), University of Jaffna, December 2022 to date.
- Senior Member of IEEE
- Lifetime member of the Jaffna Science Association (JSA)
Activities
Articles
- T. Kokul, “ Generative AI in Academia: Opportunities and Challenges ”, AI Story, India, Vol-1, pp. 24-27, 2025
- T. Kokul, “ Sparse Neural Networks: Redefining Efficiency in Deep Learning ”, ComSpective the ICT Technical Magazine by the Department of Computing and Information Systems, Sabaragamuwa University, Sri Lanka, Vol-4, No-2, 2024[Accepted]
- T. Kokul, “ How Self-Supervised Learning is Unlocking the Power of Unlabeled Data in Computer Vision”, ComSpective the ICT Technical Magazine by the Department of Computing and Information Systems, Sabaragamuwa University, Sri Lanka, Vol-5, No-1, 2025[Accepted]
- T. Kokul, “How Vision Transformers outperforms CNNs in Single Object Tracking?”, ComSpective the ICT Technical Magazine by the Department of Computing and Information Systems, Sabaragamuwa University, Sri Lanka, Vol-4, No-1, pp.2-4, 2024
Reviewer (Indexed Journals)
- IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 2025
- IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology 2025
- PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science 2023, 2024
- Computers in Biology and Medicine
- International Transactions on Electrical Energy Systems, Wiley, 2024
- IEEE Sensors Journal 2024
- Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering, Springer 2023
- Expert Systems with Applications, Elsevier 2023
- Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (JNSF) 2023
- International Journal of Machine Learning and Cybernetics (JMLC), 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
- IEEE Access: The Multidisciplinary Open Access Journal-2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024
Attended Conferences/Workshops
- IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP), Athens, Greece, 7-10 October 2018
- Seventh IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Information Systems, Cairo, Egypt, 12-14 December 2015 (via online)
- IEEE 10th International Conference on Information & Automation for Sustainability (ICIAFS), Sri Lanka. 2021 (via online)
- IEEE 16th International Conference on Industrial and Information Systems (ICIIS), Sri Lanka, 2021 (via online)
- IEEE 21st International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), Sri Lanka. 2021 (via online)
- IEEE Fifth International Conference on Electrical, Electronics, Computer Technologies, and Optimization Technologies (ICEECCOT), Mysore, India, 2021 (via online)
Session Chair/Editor/Technical Program Committee Member
- Session Chair for a Technical Session at the Applied Science, Business & Industrial Research Symposium (ASBIRES – 2022), Faculty of Applied Sciences, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, held on 4th March 2023.
- Session panel evaluator in the International Conference on Innovation and Emerging Technologies(ICIET), held on 26th November 2022, Organized by Faculty of Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
- Associate Editor of the Vavuniya Journal of Science, University of Vavuniya, from March 2022 to date.
- Technical Program Committee Chair of FARS 2021 conference, Faculty of Applied Science, University of Vavuniya -2021
- Session Chair for Technical Program II of FARS 2020 conference, Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna 2020.
Teaching
Undergraduate Teaching
- CSC106S3: Human-Computer Interaction
- CSC305S: Graphics and Visual Computing
- APS404XM2: Information Technology Project Management
Previous Teaching Experience (Faculty of Applied Science, University of Vavuniya)
- Digital Image Processing
- Computer Graphics
- Object-Oriented Programming
- Multimedia and Web Development
- Mobile Computing
- Computer Graphics and Image Processing
- Database Management System
- Internet Computing
- Project Management
- Software Engineering
- Human-Computer Interaction
Teaching to other HEIs
- MMP 5037 Medical Imaging Analysis & AI Basis, M.Sc in Medical Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, 2023
- CSH7273 Artificial Intelligence, Third year Computer Science students, Faculty of Applied Science, University of Vavuniya, Sri Lanka, 2022
Publications
Journals
2025
- Janani, K., Kokul, T., Ramanan, A. and Fernando, S.: “Selective Information Flow for Transformer Tracking”, Expert Systems with Applications, Elsevier, vol. 259, p. 125381, 2025, ISSN: 0957-4174, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2024.125381.
2024
- Anparasy, S., Punithakumar, K., Kokul, T., Michelle, N., Rui, Z., Dean, T., Edmond, H.M., and Lawrence, H.: “A Lightweight Ultrasound Image Denoiser Using Parallel Attention Modules and Capsule Generative Adversarial Network”, In Informatics in Medicine Unlocked, Elsevier, Volume 50, pp. 101569, August 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imu.2024.101569
- Pabasara, S., and Kokul, T., “A Period Prediction System for Sinhala Epigraphical Scripts using Ensemble CNNs and Attention Modules” ECTI Transactions on Computer and Information Technology (ECTI-CIT), vol.18, no.04, pp-555-567, 2024. doi: 10.37936/ecti-cit.2024184.256931.
2023
- Janani, K.*, Kokul, T. *, Ramanan, A. and Fernando, S.: “Transformers in Single Object Tracking: An Experimental Survey”, In IEEE Access, Vol 11, pp. 80297 – 80326I, 2023. 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3298440 [* – Contributed Equally]
2022
- Subaramya, S., Logiraj, K., Kokul, T., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J., and Nagulan, R., “Discriminative Patterns of White Matter Changes in Alzheimer’s” Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, Elsevier, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2022.111576
2021
- Anparasy, S., Kokul, T. “Scene-Specific Dark Channel Prior for Single Image Fog Removal”, The International Journal on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions, vol14(3), pp.1-12, 2021.[code]
2019
- Kokul, T., Fookes, C., Sridharan, S., Ramanan, A., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J.: “Target-Specific Siamese Attention Network for Real-time Object Tracking”, In IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, Vol15, pp.1276 – 1289, 2019. [code]
Book Chapter
2020
- Gayani Chandrarathne, Kokul, T., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J.: ” A Comprehensive Study on Deep Classification with Small datasets” In Advances in Electronics Engineering, Springer, PP.93-106, 2020.
International Conferences
2025
- Pushpanayakam, S., Kokul, T., Ramanan, A. and Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J. “Underwater Image Enhancement Using Depth Estimation and a Transformer-GAN Model”, in IEEE International Conference on Advanced Research in Computing (ICARC’25), 20 February 2025.
- Janany, S., Logiraj, K., Tuvensha, J., Subaramya, S., Kokul, T., and Nagulan, R., “Classification of Alzheimer’s Disease Stages using Weighted Brain Connectivity based Graph Convolutional Neural Network” In IEEE International Conference on Advanced Research in Computing (ICARC’25), February 2025 [Accepted]
- Pavithra, S., Logiraj, K., Tuvensha, J., Subaramya, S., Kokul, T., and Nagulan, R., “Functional Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease: Explainable AI using Resting-State fMRI” In IEEE International Conference on Advanced Research in Computing (ICARC’25), February 2025 [Accepted]
2024
- Janani, K., Kokul, T., Ramanan, A. and Fernando, S.: “Transformer Tracking Using Spatiotemporal Features”, IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Engineering and Technology (IICAIET 2024), Malaysia, August 2024 [Accepted]
- Pabasara, S., Keerthiha, K., Papiththira, S., and Kokul, T., “From Facial Alterations to Health Insights: Ensemble CNNs in Disease Diagnosis” IEEE International Conference on Smart Computing and Systems Engineering(SCSE), Sri Lanka, April 2024 [Accepted]
2023
- Pabasara, S., Pasan, H., and Kokul, T., “An Efficient Real-Time Air Drumming Approach Using MediaPipe Hand Gesture Model” IEEE 5th International Conference on Advancements in Computing 2023 (ICAC 2023), Sri Lanka, December 2023 [Accepted]
- Pabasara, S., Papiththira, S., and Kokul, T., “Detection and Visualization of Neglected Tropical Skin Diseases using EfficientNet and Grad-CAM” IEEE 5th International Conference on Advancements in Computing 2023 (ICAC 2023), Sri Lanka, December 2023 [Accepted]
- Subaramya, S., Nagulan, R., Kokul, T., A., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J., “Exploring Asymmetrical White Matter Abnormalities in Alzheimer’s Using Deep Learning” IEEE 9th International Conference on Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference 2023 (MERCon 2023), Sri Lanka, November 2023 [Accepted]
- Pabasara, S., and Kokul, T.: “An Efficient Knock Code Decoding Approach to assist the People with Communication Impairments”, In IEEE International Conference on Advanced Research in Computing (ICARC’23), February 2023. DOI: 10.1109/ICARC57651.2023.
10145583
2022
- Rajeetha, T., and Kokul, T., “Gender and Age Estimation from Facial Images using Deep Learning”, In 7th IEEE International Conference on Information Technology Research (ICITR 2022), Sri Lanka, 07 – 09 December 2022. DOI: 10.1109/ICITR57877.2022.
9993277 - Anparasy, S., and Kokul, T., “A Dual CNN Architecture for Single Image Raindrop and Rain Streak Removal”, In 7th IEEE International Conference on Information Technology Research (ICITR 2022), Sri Lanka, 07 – 09 December 2022. DOI: 10.1109/ICITR57877.2022.
9993091 - Subaramya, S., Kokul, T., Nagulan, R., A., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J., “Graph Neural Network based Alzheimer’s Disease Classification using Structural Brain Network” IEEE 22nd International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), Sri Lanka, December 2022 [Accepted]
- Logiraj, K., Kokul, T., Sotheeswaran, S., Nagulan, R. , “Segmentation of Whole-brain Tractography: A Deep Learning Algorithm Based on 3D Raw Curve Points”, In 25th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI), Singapore, 18 – 22 September 2022. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-16431-6_18
- Anparasy, S., Priyadarshani, A.H.R., Kokul, T., and Ramanan, A.: “Underwater Image Enhancement Using Dual Convolutional Neural Network with Skip Connections”, In IEEE International Conference on Advanced Research in Computing (ICARC’22), 23-24 February 2022.
2021
- Anparasy, S., Kokul, T., “Underwater Image Enhancement using Scene-Specific Red Channel Prior and Fusion” IEEE Fifth International Conference on Electrical, Electronics, Computer Technologies, and Optimization Technologies (ICEECCOT), Mysore, India, 2021.
- Pabasara, S., Kokul, T., “Period Prediction of Sinhala Epigraphical Scripts using Convolutional Neural Networks” IEEE 21st International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), Sri Lanka. 2021.
- Logiraj, K., Kokul, T., Sotheeswaran, S., Nagulan, R. , “TractNet: A Deep Learning Approach on 3D Curves for Segmenting White Matter Fibre Bundles” IEEE 21st International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), Sri Lanka. 2021.
- Papiththira, S., Kokul, T., “Melanoma Skin Cancer Detection Using EfficientNet and Channel Attention Module” IEEE 16th International Conference on Industrial and Information Systems (ICIIS), Sri Lanka. 2021.
- Vijayakanthan, G., Kokul, T., Pakeerathan, P., A., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J. “Classification of Vegetable Plant Pests Using Deep Transfer Learning” IEEE 10th International Conference on Information & Automation for Sustainability (ICIAFS), pp. 167-172, Sri Lanka. 2021. [code] [dataset]
- Subaramya, S., Kokul, T., Nagulan, R., A., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J., Jeyasuthan, M,. “Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Structural Brain Network and Convolutional Neural Network” IEEE 10th International Conference on Information & Automation for Sustainability (ICIAFS), pp. 173-178, Sri Lanka. 2021.
2020
- Kokul, T., Anparasy, S. “Single Image Defogging using Depth Estimation and Scene-Specific Dark Channel Prior” IEEE 20th International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2020.[code]
2018
- Kokul, T., Fookes, C., Sridharan, S., Ramanan, A., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J.: “Deep Match Tracker: Classifying when dissimilar, similarity matching when not”, IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP), pp. 2730-2734, Athens, Greece, 7-10 October 2018. [code]
2017
- Kokul, T., Fookes, C., Sridharan, S., Ramanan, A. and Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J.: “Gate Connected Convolutional Neural Network for Object Tracking”, In IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP), pp. 2602-2606, Beijing, China, 17-20 September 2017.[code]
2015
- Kokul, T., Ramanan, A. and Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J.: “Online Multi-Person Tracking-by-Detection Method Using ACF and Particle Filter”, Seventh IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Information Systems, pp. 529-536, Cairo, Egypt, 12-14 December 2015.
Local Conference Publications/Abstracts
2022
- Subaramya, S., Kokul, T., Nagulan, R., A., Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J., “Deep Learning Based Detection and Analysis of Alzheimer’s on Structural Connectomes” In Proceedings of the Postgraduate Institute of Science Research Congress (RESCON), University of Peradeniya, 2022. [Accepted]
2020
- Vithusa and Kokul, T., “Human identification by using retina data” First Annual Research Session (FARS) at Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, pp.103, 2020.
- Saliny and Kokul, T., “Automated flower classification using HOG features”, First Annual Research Session (FARS) at Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, pp.113, 2020.
- Krusthigaa Murali and Kokul, T., “Fake Sri Lankan currency detection using image processing techniques” First Annual Research Session (FARS) at Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, pp.116, 2020.
- Thushari and Kokul, T., “Road defect detection using HOG features and SVM” First Annual Research Session (FARS) at Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, pp.117, 2020.
- Praveena and Kokul, T., “Off-line handwritten signature verification” First Annual Research Session (FARS) at Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, pp.118, 2020.
2015
- Kokul, T., Ramanan, A. and Pinidiyaarachchi, U.A.J.: “Multi-Person Tracking Using Generic Person Detector and Particle Filter” Sri Lanka Student Workshop in Computer Science (SL-SWCS) 2015 University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka (poster, won best presenter award).
- Kokul, T. “A Performance Evaluation of various SVM Tools and Different Feature Selection Strategies” In Proceedings of the Postgraduate Institute of Science Research Congress, University of Peradeniya, pp.20, 2015
2011
- Kokul, T. and Charles, E.Y.A.: “Recognition of Printed Tamil Alphabet Characters”, In Proceedings of the 18th Annual Sessions, Jaffna Science Association, Jaffna, pp. 19, 2011.
Awards
- Best Paper Award in the track of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for “Underwater Image Enhancement Using Depth Estimation and a Transformer-GAN Model”, in IEEE International Conference on Advanced Research in Computing (ICARC’25), 20 February 2025.
- Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) ICT Researcher of the year – 2023, received on 24th November 2024.
- President’s Award for Scientific Research – 2019 for the publication: “Target-Specific Siamese Attention Network for Real-time Object Tracking”, In IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics & Security, pp.1276 – 1289, doi: 10.1109/TIFS.2019.2935871, 2019.
- Best Paper Award in the track of Human-Computer Interaction and Computer Vision for “Underwater Image Enhancement Using Dual Convolutional Neural Network with Skip Connections”, in International Conference on Advanced Research in Computing (ICARC’22), 24 February 2022.
- Excellent paper award for the paper “Period Prediction of Sinhala Epigraphical Scripts using Convolutional Neural Networks” IEEE 21st International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), Sri Lanka. 2021
- Excellent paper award for the paper “TractNet: A Deep Learning Approach on 3D Curves for Segmenting White Matter Fibre Bundles” IEEE 21st International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), Sri Lanka. 2021
- Best Oral Presentation award for presenting the poster “Multi-Person Tracking Using Generic Person Detector and Particle Filter” in Sri Lanka Student Workshop in Computer Science (SL-SWCS), Department of Computer Science, University of Jaffna, 2015.
- Sabalingam Memorial Prize for the Best Performance in the Honours Degree Examination in Computer Science – 2009, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Research Grants
- To pursue PhD degree: PhD tuition fee sponsorship from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia, 2016-2019.
- To pursue PhD degree: Partial cost of living Sponsorship from University Grants Commission (UGC), Sri Lanka, 2016-2019.
Employment History
| March 2022 – Present | Senior Lecturer – Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. |
| June 2019-March 2022 | Senior Lecturer – Department of Physical Science, Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna/ University of Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. |
| December 2011-May 2019 | Lecturer (Probationary)– Department of Physical Science, Faculty of Applied Science, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. |
| November 2010-October 2011 | Assistant Lecturer – Department of Computer Science, University of Jaffna, Sri Lank |
| November 2009-October 2011 | Instructor – Department of Computer Science, University of Jaffna |