The Team
Dr Patricia Ann Hardwick
Patricia Ann Hardwick is Head for the Sunway Centre for Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage (SCDHCH), Faculty of the Arts and Social Sciences, Sunway University. Her Ph.D. is in Folklore & Ethnomusicology and Anthropology from Indiana University, Bloomington. Her research interests include performance, anthropology, ethnomusicology, ICH, and cultural resilience. Patricia has published in Folklore Forum, Midwestern Folklore, JMBRAS, Music and Medicine, and Asian Ethnology. Her research has been supported by the Institute of Sacred Music (Yale), Fulbright (MACEE, AMINEF), AIFIS, the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program (U.S. Department of Higher Education), the Malaysian National Heritage Department (JWN), and the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) .
Mohamad Hilman Nordin
Hilman Nordin is Senior Research Fellow at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sunway University. With over 10 years of teaching and research in the Engineering Faculty at UM, and 6 years in the industry managing a cultural heritage technology-based start-up, Hilman is passionate about combining technology with the arts. His current interest is in AR/VR, machine learning, app development, and prototyping. He is now currently affiliated with the Sunway Centre for Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage (SCDHCH), Sunway University.
Professor Mayco A. Santaella
Mayco A. Santaella is Professor and Dean for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sunway University. He studied at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as an East-West Center fellow researching music and dance traditions of the extended Sulu Zone (East Malaysia, southern Philippines, and eastern Indonesia) and its links to the Nusantara region. He conducted research for his doctoral studies in the region of Central Sulawesi as a Fulbright research grant recipient. His research foci include the study of music and dance traditions as well as popular music in Southeast Asia.
- Associate Professor
Associate Professor Dr Tom Pierard
Tom is a performer, academic and commercial composer. Prior to working at Sunway University he taught extensively in the tertiary sector lecturing in music technology, contemporary performance and music pedagogy. His drumming and production have featured on several notable albums and multimedia collaborations, and he regularly performs in a range of styles from jazz to heavy metal. Recently, his research focus has mainly been on exploring new student centred pedagogies for music technology, exploring the impact of AI generated music on identity development, and agents of change in mainstream drumming and percussion.
- Lecturer
Dr Fiona Wong E Chiong
Dr Fiona Wong E Chiong is a passionate advocate for preserving Malaysia’s cultural heritage, focusing on traditional arts and crafts. She is known for her pioneering PhD research in Wayang Kulit Kelantan puppet design, while her Master’s work delves into 19th- and 20th-century Malayan Chinese shophouse façade designs. She integrates her research passion into her teaching and writing. She actively engages with the community through talks and workshops, particularly in secondary schools and tertiary institutions. Her mission is to pass down this invaluable cultural knowledge to younger generations, so they will be empowered to contribute back to the community and society.
Delas Santano
Delas Santano is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Creative Design, Sunway University. He also lectures in the Digital Film Production course in the School of Arts. Prior to Sunway, he was at the Centre for Creative Content and Digital Innovation in University of Malaya where he was involved in the Transmedia and Polysensory Exhibition which showcased notable exhibits like Mah Meri Unmasked and Textile Tales of Pua Kumbu. His short documentary on The Traditional Boatbuilder of Pangkor Island, produced in 2016, was screened and nominated in the Best Documentary section of the 2016 Canada-China Film Festival held in Montreal. Besides having a wealth of experience in video content production, design and video editing, he is actively involved in research, curriculum development and teaching (notably Creative Multimedia at several private colleges in Malaysia). His main research area is in audiovisual production particularly on culture and heritage, and video production combined with digital humanities.
- Senior Lecturer
Maslisa Zainuddin
Maslisa Zainuddin is a university lecturer by day and a designer and artist by night. She has spent over a decade working in the design, advertising and education fields both locally and internationally. As a designer, she believes that even the most mundane things should be made to look beautiful. To her, pieces of art can and should be made functional and she believes in upcycling as a way to transform art. Jewellery, stationery, fabric, packaging, patterns and designs have always fascinated her since young. Her obsession with all things pretty has turned into a career for her as she now sells and exhibits her designs internationally. She has participated in various design exhibitions, campaigns and competitions such as Paper Cutout & Painting Exhibition, New York, USA and Immagine & Poesia, Italy.
