Dr. Asha de Vos is a distinguished Sri Lankan marine biologist renowned for her groundbreaking research on blue whales in the Northern Indian Ocean. As Sri Lanka’s first deep-sea explorer and a fervent advocate for marine conservation diversity and equity, she has made significant contributions to ocean science and education.
Dr. de Vos holds degrees from prestigious institutions including the University of St. Andrews, the University of Oxford, and the University of Western Australia. She transitioned from academia to establish Oceanswell, Sri Lanka’s first marine conservation research and education organization. Her work has garnered international attention, being featured by prominent media outlets such as the BBC, the New York Times, TED, and National Geographic.
Among her numerous accolades, Dr. de Vos holds the distinction of being the first Sri Lankan woman to have her portrait displayed at Oxford University. She is also honored with a deck named after her on the MV Sylvia Earle cruise ship and has her handwoven portrait featured in the ‘Women + Water’ exhibit at Manitowish River Studio in the USA. She was recognized on the BBC 100 Women 2018 list and named Sri Lankan of the Year by Lanka Monthly Digest the same year. Her notable awards include the inaugural Maxwell-Hanrahan award in field biology in 2020, Scuba Diving Magazine’s Sea Hero of the Year, and the Vanithaabimani Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. She also received the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize and was named the equity and diversity champion of the British Ecological Society in 2023. Additionally, she became an Osher Fellow at the California Academy of Sciences.
In 2024, Dr. de Vos was invited to join the UN Secretary-General’s 7-member Scientific Advisory Board, underscoring her global influence and commitment to advancing marine conservation and equity in ocean spaces.
Learn more about Oceanswell.
Expertise
Marine Mammals, Conservation Leadership, Social Media, Public Speaking, Sri Lanka, Conservation in Developing Countries, Advocacy, and Education
Awards and Fellowships
2023 Osher Fellow at the California Academy of Sciences
2023 Equality and Diversity Champion of the British Ecological Society
2023 named one of the Top 100 Scientists in Asia by Asian Scientist Magazine
2021 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize winner
2021 Vanithaabimani lifetime achievement award for outstanding achievements in the field of Marine Biology
2020 Sea Hero of Scubadiving magazine and Seiko watches of USA
2020 Inaugural winner of a Maxwell/Hanrahan Individual Award in Field Biology
2020 HCL Technologies’ Global Goodwill Champion
2020 recognized as Global Goodwill Champions as part of HCL
2019 Inspirational Icon Award at the 21st Century Icon Awards
2019 one of 12 women changemakers in Sri Lanka selected by the Parliament of Sri Lanka2018 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award finalists
2018 LMD Sri Lankan of the Year award
2018 BBC Top 100 Women
2018 Wings WorldQuest Women of Discovery Sea Award
2018 Golden alumni award, Professional Achievement category at first edition of the British Council Golden Alumni awards
World Economic Forum Young Global Leader
2016 President’s Award for Scientific Publication in Sri Lanka
2016 PEW Marine Conservation Fellow
2016 National Geographic Explorer
2013 TED Senior Fellow
Duke University Global Fellow
Affiliations
- Member of the UN Secretary General’s Scientific Advisory Board (one of 7 external members)
- Steering committee member, IUCN Species Survival Commission (2022-2025)
- Patron, The Lewis Pugh Foundation
- Editorial board, npj Ocean Sustainability
- Adjunct Research Fellow, The Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Australia
- Science and Innovation Committee member, R/V REV Ocean, Norway
- Impact Advisor, Nekton deep open research institute, Oxford, UK
- Steering committee, Ocean and Marine Sciences, National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka
- Founder, The Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project
- Advisory board member of The Ocean Foundation
- Invited member of IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Cetacean Specialist Group
- Founding Executive Director, Oceanswell
- National Geographic Emerging Explorer
