Sri Lanka-Born Professor Knighted in UK

COLOMBO (News 1st); Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, has been awarded a knighthood in the 2026 King’s New Year Honours, recognizing his outstanding contribution to higher education and his leadership in advancing inclusion.

Educated in Sri Lanka, Canagarajah moved to the UK for higher studies, earning his BA (Hons) and PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1989 and 1993. 

An internationally respected researcher in signal processing and texture classification, Canagarajah has served on numerous national and international panels and collaborated with leading organizations such as Sony, BT, BBC, Orange, Thales, Toshiba, and the UK Metropolitan Police.