Center for Southeast Asian Studies > SEA Specialists by Country

SEA Specialists by Country

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies has access to the largest concentration of Southeast Asia specialists available in the United States, drawing upon the expertise of over fifty professors and resources specialists at the University of Hawaiʻi and in the local community.

Students and scholars interested in Southeast Asia can draw upon professors and experts in the field from over twenty-five programs, including American Studies, Anthropology and Archaeology, Architecture, Asian Studies, Art and Art History, Botany, Business, Economics, Ethnic Studies, Ethnomusicology, Film, Geography, History, Global Studies, Law, Library Science, Linguistics, Music, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Political Science, Public Administration, Sociology, Southeast Asian Languages and Literatures (Tagalog, Ilokano, Indonesian, Khmer, Thai and Vietnamese (with Arabic also available)), Sustainability Studies, Textiles and Clothing, Theatre and Dance, Urban and Regional Planning and Women’s Studies.

Randle C. DeFalco, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | William S. Richardson School of Law
International criminal law, Cambodia
rdefalco@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar | spotlight

Sothy Eng, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Family and Consumer Science
Cambodian education including access and equity, program development and evaluation, child and adolescent learning and development, family and community development
sothy@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar | webpage

Jefferson Fox, Ph.D. | Retired Affiliate | Senior Research Fellow, East-West Center
Land cover, forest resource management, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia
FoxJ@EastWestCenter.org | website

Piphal Heng, Ph.D. | Affiliate | Department of Anthropology, (TBA)
Political economy, religious-ideological changes, state formation in early modern Southeast Asia
piphal@hawaii.edu | website | spotlight

Paul Lavy, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Art & Art History
Southeast Asian art, Hindu-Buddhist traditions of the peninsular Thailand, Mekong Delta & Preangkorian civilizations
paul.lavy@hawaii.edu | website | spotlight

Jonathan Padwe, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Anthropology
Southeast Asian anthropology, agrarian transition in Southeast Asia
padwe@hawaii.edu | website | War & Recovery in Northeast Cambodia

Chhany Sak-Humphry, Ph.D.| UHM Faculty | Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
Khmer (Cambodian) language, linguistics, language and technology
sak@hawaii.edu | website

Courtney Work, Ph.D. | Affiliate Faculty | Assistant Professor, Department of Ethnology, National Chengchi University (Taiwan)
Cambodia, Land, Spirit, Religion, Climate Change
cwork@nccu.edu.tw | Google Scholar | websit e

Ming-Li Yong, Ph.D. | Affiliate | Fellow, East-West Center
Transboundary water governance, development, livelihoods, public participation in the Mekong River Basin
yongm@eastwestcenter.org | website | spotlight

Ashok Das, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Urban & Regional Planning
Urban planning and poverty issues in Indonesia and Southeast Asia
ashokdas@hawaii.edu | Affordable Housing for Hawaiʻi and Native Hawaiians

Patricia (Pattie) Dunn | UHM Faculty | School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Pan-Southeast Asia, Indonesia, gamelan, educational advising
pdunn@hawaii.edu | website

Jerome Feldman, Ph.D. | Affiliate Faculty | Hawaiʻi Pacific University
Tribal arts of Southeast Asia
jfeldman@hpu.edu | website

Lisa X. Gollin, Ph.D. | Affiliate | Cultural Surveys Hawaiʻi
Medical anthropology, ethnobotany and ethnobiology, Indonesia
lxgollin@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar

Byron Moon, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Music
Javanese gamelan
bmoon@hawaii.edu | website

Annie Reynolds, Ph.D. | Affiliate | Curator EWC Gallery, East-West Center
Southeast Asian theater & performance, Indonesia
reynolda@eastwestcenter.org

L. Ayu Saraswati, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Associate Professor, Department of Women’s Studies, feminist media, transnational & postcolonial feminism, women’s body image and beauty culture
luhp@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar | website

R. Anderson “Andy” Sutton, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Vice Chancellor International Exchange, Ethnomusicology, Javanese performance ensemble, K-Pop
rasutton@hawaii.edu | website

I Made Widana | Affiliate | Artist-in-Residence, Asian Theatre, Department of Theatre & Dance
Balinese music and dance instructor
widana@hawaii.edu

Kevin Woods, Ph.D. | Affiliate | Adjunct Senior Fellow, Research Program, East-West Center
Politics of land use change, resource extraction, and environmental conservation; resources and armed conflict dynamics; environmental peace building; Chinese investment in Southeast Asia; mainland Southeast Asia, with focus on Burma/Myanmar
WoodsK@EastWestCenter.org | ResearchGate | Google Scholar | website

Precious Mae B. Arao, M.A. | UHM Faculty | Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
Tagalog, Philippine culture, effects of Filipino-American identity in language learning
araop@hawaii.edu | website

Elena Clariza | UHM Faculty | Hamilton Library, Philippine Collection
Library resources, educational resources development
mclariza@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar | website

Dean Domingo | UHM Faculty | Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
Ilocano, Philippine literature
deand@hawaii.edu | website

Imelda Gasmen | UHM Faculty | Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
Tagalog, Philippine literature
igasmen@hawaii.edu | website

Patricia Halagao, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | College of Education
Curriculum studies, multicultural education
phalagao@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar | website

Roderick N. Labrador, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Ethnic Studies
Race, ethnicity, class, culture, language, migration, education, hip hop, and cultural production among Filipinos in Hawai’i, the US and the Philippines
labrador@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar | website

Vina Lanzona, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Department of History
Southeast Asian history, gender and revolution
vlanzona@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar | website

Frederico V. Magdalena, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Muslim Mindanao
fm@hawaii.edu | website

Clemen Montero | UHM Faculty | School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Tagalog/Ilocano language, educational program development
montero@hawaii.edu | website

Nadezna Ortega, JD | UHM Faculty | Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
Ilocano language, Philippine literature
nadezna@hawaii.edu | ResearchGate | Google Scholar

Ricardo D. Trimillos, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | School of Pacific and Asian Studies (Ret/Active Teaching)
Ethnomusicology, Asian studies, Muslim Philippines
rtrimil@hawaii.edu | Google Scholar | website

Barbara Watson Andaya, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | School of Pacific and Asian Studies
History of Southeast Asia, women in the Malay world, Asian studies
bandaya@hawaii.edu | website

William Chapman, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of American Studies (Historic Preservation)
Southeast Asian architecture/archaeology/preservation
wchapman@hawaii.edu | website

Benjamin Fairfield, Ph.D. | Affiliate Faculty | CSEAS & Department of Music
SEA Ethnomusicology, Thai music
bsf@hawaii.edu| website

Bundit Kanisthakhon, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | School of Architecture
Design and construction, Tropical architecture
bundit@hawaii.edu | website

Paul Lavy, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Art & Art History
Southeast Asian art, Hindu-Buddhist traditions of the peninsular Thailand, Mekong Delta & Preangkorian civ
paul.lavy@hawaii.edu | website | spotlight

Mary Mostafanezhad, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Geography
Thailand; Tourism; Agro-food initiatives; International development and humanitarianism; and Transboundary environmental governance
mostafan@hawaii.edu | website

Leslie Sponsel, Ph.D. | Retired Faculty
Spiritual ecology
sponsel@hawaii.edu | website

Brian Szuster, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Geography
Geography of Southeast Asia, coastal/marine environments in Southeast Asia
szuster@hawaii.edu | website

Phanwin Yokying, Ph.D | Affiliate | Fellow, East-West Center
Development, labor, and agricultural economics (e.g. migration, gender, time use, child labor, informal employment)
YokyingP@EastWestCenter.org | website

J.B. Friday, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Tropical forestry, Timor-Leste agroforestry project
jbfriday@hawaii.edu | website

Margaret Bodemer, Ph.D. | Affiliate Faculty | Department of Anthropology | Cal Poly
Culture, history and identity in Southeast Asia
mbodemer@calpoly.edu | website

Tung X. Bui, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Shidler College of Business, Information Technology Management
Computer-supported group decision and negotiation, management, UHM/Shidler Vietnam MBA program
tung.bui@hawaii.edu | website

Jefferson Fox, Ph.D. | Affiliate | Senior Research Fellow, East-West Center
Land cover, forest resource management, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia
FoxJ@EastWestCenter.org | website

John Butler, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Shidler College of Business, Management and Industrial Relations
Entrepreneurship, Southeast Asia
jebutler@hawaii.edu | website

Ashok Das, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Urban & Regional Planning
Urban planning and poverty issues Southeast Asia
ashokdas@hawaii.edu | website

Patricia (Pattie) Dunn | UHM Faculty | School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Pan-Southeast Asia, Indonesia, gamelan, educational advising
pdunn@hawaii.edu | website

Patricia Halagao, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | College of Education
Curriculum studies, multicultural education
phalagao@hawaii.edu | website

Thao Le, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
Mindfulness-based prevention/intervention programs; optimal development & resiliency; ethnic minority populations and cross-cultural issues
thaole3@hawaii.edu | website

John Lynham, Ph.D.| UHM Faculty | Economics
Environmental and resource economics, ocean policy, Southeast Asia
lynham@hawaii.edu | website

Rohayati Paseng | UHM Faculty | Hamilton Library, Southeast Asia Collection
Southeast Asia library resources, Indonesia, Southeast Asian film, translation/film subtitling
rohayati@hawaii.edu | website

David Rockwood | UHM Faculty | School of Architecture
Tropical architecture, urban design
rockwood@hawaii.edu | website

Ricardo D. Trimillos, Ph.D. | UHM Faculty | School of Pacific and Asian Studies (Ret/Active Teaching)
Ethnomusicology, Asian studies, Muslim Philippines, Pan-Pacific performing arts
rtrimil@hawaii.edu | website

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