Prof. Ranjith Bandara Mapa, Ph.D. is a distinguished Soil Scientist with a wide range of teaching and research experience in Sri Lanka and abroad. He obtained his B.Sc. in Agriculture (1975) from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Ph.D. in Agronomy & Soil Science from University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA, in 1984. His major research and teaching activities at University of Peradeniya focused mainly on Soil Physics, Soil Genesis & Classification, and Soils of Sri Lanka. After serving the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, for 32 years, presently he serves as an emeritus professor. He worked as a Visiting Professor at Department of Civil & Environmental, Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA from 1992 to 1994 and at University of Reading, UK in 1988. He has contributed to the advancement of Soil Science in Sri Lanka as the President of Soil Science Society from 1995 to 1997 and as the editor for many years. . He was the team leader of the Sri Lanka-Canada Soil Resource(SRICANSOL) project which updated the soil maps and classified soils of Sri Lanka according to international systems. He edited six books on “Soils of Sri Lanka” for different rainfall zones of Wet, Intermediate and Dry zones.  Prof. Mapa was awarded the International Partnership Award by the Agriculture Institute of Canada in 2007 for the service on advancement in Soil Science in Sri Lanka.  He received the Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research from the Council for Agriculture Research Policy (CARP) in 2017 and the General Research Committee (GRC) award of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) for the year 1999 for outstanding research contribution to Soil Science. He was elected as a fellow of National Academy of Sciences in Sri Lanka in 2003.