Professor Eliathamby Ambikairajah AO has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2026 Australia Day Honours.
Professor Eliathamby Ambikairajah AO, from the UNSW School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2026 Australia Day Honours for distinguished service to tertiary education and research, to electrical engineering, to technology innovation, and to the Sri Lankan community of Australia.
This is a landmark moment for the school, and a proud recognition of a career defined by excellence, leadership and service. Professor Ambikairajah is one of UNSW’s most respected academic leaders and, as the school’s longest-serving Head of School, played a transformative role in shaping Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications into a high-performing, globally recognised community of research, education and innovation.
Professor Ambikairajah has held several senior leadership roles at UNSW, including Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Innovation and Enterprise) and Head of the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications from 2009 to 2019. Under his leadership, the school strengthened its international standing, expanded its innovation culture, and reinforced its reputation for excellence in teaching, research and engagement.
An internationally recognised researcher in speech and signal processing, auditory modelling and artificial intelligence, Professor Ambikairajah has made major contributions to intelligent auditory systems, voice biometrics and speech technologies. His work has advanced the integration of signal processing and machine learning in areas including speech recognition, emotion detection and cochlear modelling.
He has also had a profound impact on engineering education at UNSW. In 2012, he pioneered the five-year integrated BE/ME program, including a tailored minor for high-achieving students, and launched the two-year accredited Master of Engineering (Electrical) program for international students. The latter was later adopted as a model across the Faculty of Engineering and now attracts more than 1,000 international students annually.
A strong champion of entrepreneurship and innovation, Professor Ambikairajah fostered a culture that led the school to achieve the highest number of disclosures and the launch of multiple startup ventures. He also initiated and led the $104 million refurbishment of the Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications building, completed in 2019, creating a world-class environment for research and technology-enabled learning. His leadership helped build a positive, creative and collaborative culture that continues to shape the school today.
His contributions to education and leadership have been recognised through several major awards, including the UNSW Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2004), the UNSW Excellence in Senior Leadership Award (2014), and the UNSW President’s People’s Choice Award (2019). In 2025, he was also awarded the Engineering Excellence Award – Excellence in Academia by the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (NSW Chapter)
Reflecting on the honour, Professor Ambikairajah said he felt deeply humbled by the recognition.
“I am deeply honoured to be recognised in the Australia Day Honours as an Officer of the Order of Australia. It is incredibly humbling. To me, leadership is about giving forward, empowering others, and paving the way for the next generation. Many of the individuals I have mentored now hold significant leadership positions, which is deeply inspiring.
This honour reflects the collective effort of the students, colleagues and communities I have had the privilege to serve. I remain committed to continuing my contributions to education, innovation and the community in Australia.”
Reflecting on the honour, Professor Jinhong Yuan, Head of the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications at UNSW, said:
“We are immensely proud to congratulate our exceptional colleague, Professor Ambikairajah AO, on this richly deserved Australia Day honour. This recognition reflects a lifetime of distinguished service to students, colleagues, the engineering profession and the wider community.
Professor Ambikairajah has made an extraordinary contribution to our School through his leadership, mentorship, educational vision and commitment to research excellence. His impact has been deep and lasting, and his legacy continues to be felt across UNSW and beyond. On behalf of the School, I warmly congratulate Professor Ambikairajah on this outstanding achievement.”
Professor Ambikairajah has made significant contributions to the global engineering and signal processing community through professional leadership and service. He served as an APSIPA Distinguished Lecturer and was the inaugural chair of the IEEE Signal Processing Society Entrepreneurship Forum at ICASSP, where he led the creation of the Society’s first entrepreneurship forum. Internationally, he served as a visiting scientist at A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research in Singapore. He also served as an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Education and, for many years, contributed as an accreditation expert and panel chair for Engineers Australia and the Institution of Engineers Singapore, supporting national and international engineering program accreditation.
He is a Fellow and Chartered Engineer of Engineers Australia and the IET (UK), a Life Senior Member of IEEE, and a Life Member of APSIPA.