Our PhD Graduates

Lola Lenzi

My years as a PhD student at NTU/ADM were intellectually stimulating and productive in innumerable ways. Fellow graduate students, of different nationalities and research interests, provided a supportive community for the duration of my studies. Individual faculty members were unfailingly available and willing to engage with my questions and topic, avant-garde art in 1990s Hanoi, from the perspective of their own expertise. This open pedagogical approach enriched my scholarly method while I was writing my dissertation and has had a lasting beneficial impact on my own teaching and academic life today. Research and enquiry were supported by a strong library team able to secure obscure publications, and NTU’s generous graduate conference budget allowed me to present my research at symposia in Boston and the Netherlands, invaluable real-world international experiences. After completing my Ph.D. studies, I return to NTU with pleasure and continue to rely on the collegial attitude of NTU faculty members.

Luo Shen Shen

Brief introduction

Shen Shen Luo is an immersive media artist, designer, and scholar. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Beijing Film Academy in China. His research includes the application of immersive digital media in the field of cultural heritage, the design of immersive media in theme parks, and the application of High Frame Rate and High-Dynamic Range in immersive images. His doctoral thesis analyzed and summarized the design process of immersive media in the field of cultural heritage. He used this theory and design process to build his own design company, which is currently doing immersive design for many theme parks in China.​



PhD Thesis Title

Animated installations for immersive spaces: developing a design process to enhance the experiences of cultural heritage in china, using an exhibit design for the western Xia imperial tombs as a case history 

Co-Supervisor

Prof Ben Shedd

Email​: [email protected] ​

Websites

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shenshen-luo-a30360a9/

Testimonial

My Ph.D. journey was more like the evolution of a cognitive process. Academic experience is only one aspect. On the other hand, I have a new view and understanding of the world. It enables me to understand the world in a more systematic and theoretical way. This not only benefited me a lot academically but also helped me a lot in my design work. I attribute all this change to the training I received during my Ph.D.

During my Ph.D., I had two supervisors at ADM, Andrea Nanetti and Ben Shedd. They have helped me a lot in both academic writing and artistic creation. I'm very grateful to them. In addition, ADM makes every effort to provide students with better academic exchange activities, which further broadens my horizon.

Campus life is enjoyable. We can communicate with students from all over the world. The spark of ideas is always generated in communication.

The doctoral study time is not long in my life, but it will affect my life.

Yang Jing ​

PhD Thesis Title

Flourishing in Physical Space: A New Perspective on Visual Music

This thesis holds the view that the greatest charm of Visual Music artworks lies in its inheritance and development of music’s ability of affecting people’s feeling and emotion. Studies on the concept of “seeing the music” should not only stay on the level of making visual representations of the musical attributes and elements, but to value the emotional expression and evocation that Visual Music can be on a par with music.

The current study serves as an experiment of an artistic approach in which Visual Music is combined with the utilization of physical space to enhance the emotion expression and evocation. Instead of treating the physical space as merely containers, the current study considers the features of physical space as compositional elements, which can be composed musically according to the artistic emotion that needs to be conveyed. In this thesis, the author would like to propose a concept called “Spatial Visual Music” as a sub-genre of Visual Music. With the emphasis on the qualifier “spatial”, this term refers to a particular type of Visual Music creation in which the artists compose not only the sounds and visuals, but also the physical space. The term “Spatial Visual Music” is thus defined as a type of artistic expression, which requires the act of using various compositional elements to process and compose a physical space as a three-dimensional musical score.

Research Areas:

• Visual Music and “Spatial Visual Music”
  
  • Approaches to enhance emotion expression and evocation
  • New compositional element and new musical vocabulary
  • Three-dimensional musical score
  • Virtual and physical 3D Visual Music performance
• Interactive Art and Architectural Installation
  
• Web-Based Experimental Animation
  
• The Utilization of Space in Art
  
  • Perception of space (through different sensory systems)
  • Composing and reconstructing space (physical & virtual space)
  • The relationship between space and human’s feeling and emotion
  • Space consciousness in traditional Chinese art, architecture, aesthetics and ideology (Taoism)

Testimonial

Make good use of time, be persistent and always ask the right questions are the three things I learnt from ADM. When I took an assignment, my job was not to finish, but to start. It was meant to inspire and to start a journey which may at the end of the day, lead to a better understanding of us as mankind and the world around us. I indulged myself into it and every minute counts. And luckily, I found I was not alone in this pursuit - my mentor and my peers were always there to support me. The world was close and my dream was near and I thank NTU for that, deeply."

Vidakovic Lea

Brief introduction ​

Lea Vidakovic is a media artist, scholar and educator working in the field of animated installations, utilizing traditional stop motion and puppet animation techniques. Her research interests include alternative narrative approaches for animated installations, visual storytelling, spatial storytelling, fragmented narratives, expanded animation and immersive environments. She has exhibited internationally on solo and group exhibitions, animation festivals, and conferences, and is a winner of numerous art and animation film awards. She is a member of SAS (Society for animation studies), HDLU (Croatian association of artists) and SULUV (Association of artists from Vojvodina).

PhD Thesis Title

Fragmented Narratives in Space: Exploring Storytelling Approaches for Animated Installations

This research is about exploring the possibilities and consequences of presenting animated films outside their usual venues and examining how the narrative adopts to these changes. I will study how breaking the linear narrative of animated films along with displacing these films from usual venues affects the animation spectatorship.

Research Area(s)

• Animation
  
• Non-linear narratives
  
• Expanded animation

Nan Triveni Achnas​

PhD Thesis Title

Re-Imaging the Essay Form in Wayang Kulit and Film

The essay film has a long and diverse history with a literary heritage that of the essay form. The term ‘essay’ often signifies a range of remarkably different types of writing – from the literary writings to the academic essay. Due to its flexibility and its wide-ranging nature, defining what constitutes an essay remains an elusive task. Essays continue to be defined and redefined, often being repositioned or reordered for specific contexts. The question of what is an essay film will be central to this dissertation. What are the elements of the essay form and can it be defined in other cultural forms, say the wayang or shadow puppet theatre?

Research Interests

• The Essay Film
  
• Digital Humanities
  
• Feminist Film Studies

Juan Camilo Gonzalez Jimenez​

​​Turine Viet-Tu Tran

Turine Viet-Tu Tran is a storyteller and researcher in digital storytelling and illustration. Since 2003, she has been working as a creative and book illustrator in Asia and Europe. An international award winning illustrator, she has spent the last 16 years in illustration, graphic design, advertising, film, animation, and the research in digital storytelling and visual adaptations of classic literature. Her children’s books have been published in North America, United Kingdom, and throughout Europe. Her client list includes renowned publishers such as Scholastic, Harper Collins, Source Books, Quarto Publishing, Oxford University Press and international advertising firms such as Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi.

As a cross-disciplinary artist, Turine has developed a unique perspective in visual storytelling. Influenced by both her Asian background and Western art training, she aspires to explore digital art tools to create immersive storytelling experiences that transcend cultural barriers. 

She is currently an Associate Lecturer at the Faculty of Design Studies, RMIT University Vietnam (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology). 

PhD Thesis Title

Visual Narratives in Digital Books: Adapting the Chinese Novel Journey to the West for Culturally Diverse Audiences

 Research Interests:

• Graphic storytelling
• Digital arts
• Adaptation studies
• Interactive storytelling
• Filmmaking

​

Christine Veras

Brief introduction

Christine Veras is a scholar and artist, originally from Brazil, researching the integration of physical and digital technologies to explore the multimedia possibilities of animation. She has completed her PhD at the School of Art, Design, and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Among her works, Christine has invented a new international prize-winning and now patented animated illusion device called Silhouette Zoetrope, which is now part of the permanent collection of the Children’s Museum in Dresden, Germany and of the Swiss Science Center Technorama in Winterthur, Switzerland.

She is now Senior Lecturer at the School of Arts, Technology and Emergent Communication at The University of Texas at Dallas, in the United States.

PhD Thesis Title

​“Contemporary Reinvenintions of Early Devices that Flicker and Rotate: A Particular Type of Animated Installation in the Quest for and Expanded Animation Experience"

What are you working on at the moment?

I am Senior Lecturer at the School of Arts, Technology and Emergent Communication at The University of Texas at Dallas, in the United States.

What was it that attracted you to the ADM when you applied?

The well-known internationally awarded animation Faculty such as Prof. Ishu Patel and Prof. Giannalberto Bendazzi.

What’s the best thing about studying at the ADM?

The contact with multiple cultures and people from different backgrounds and experiences, as well as the infra-structure.

The value of sharing your knowledge with the community, being open-minded to understand the different cultural backgrounds and how the relate to each other.

What’s been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

I have 3 particularly big highlights so far: being granted a patent for the animated illusion device that I have created; the selection of this device as one of the TOP 3 Best Illusion of the Year 2016 worldwide and the fact that my invention is now part of the permanent collection of two museums in Europe, the Children’s Museum in Dresden, Germany which is part of the Detsches-Hygyene Museum and the Swiss Science Center Technorama in Whinterthur, Switzerland (2019 upcoming exhibition).

Do you have any advice for current or future students?

Get out of your comfort zone and discover the different ways you can contribute to Adm as a community. You can learn a lot in the process.

Cinzia Bottini

Brief introduction

Cinzia Bottini received her Ph.D. from the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (2016). She graduated in Philosophy (2004) and earned a Master degree in Philosophical Studies with an emphasis on fine art and cinema from the University of Milan (2010). She has worked as a journalist for radio, magazine and television, and she has written about the history and theory of animation for the following journals and book: ITINERA – Rivista di Filosofia e di Teoria delle Arti; Animation – A World History by Giannalberto Bendazzi; Animation Studies Online Journal; Cabiria – Studi di Cinema; and The International Journal of Visual Design (co-author).

PhD Thesis Title

​UPA: Redesigning Animation

My experience at ADM

When I started my doctoral studies at ADM, I could never have imagined what a formative learning experience it would be, both professionally and personally.

I applied to ADM to enhance my knowledge about the History and Theory of Animation and to become a professional in the field of animation’s critical studies. Back then, I couldn’t imagine that I would have also had some practical lessons. The best thing about studying at ADM was the possibility to learn from some unique professors, whose expertise was generously at the service of the students. I still remember some lectures I had the privilege to attend and how much the taught principles and concepts still resonate with my professional life.

The most important thing I learned at ADM is to value the contribution of every person and to be humble and consistent in my work. The biggest highlight of my career has been the publication of my Ph.D. thesis into a book.

What’s been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

My most recent work is the book ​Redesigning Animation: United Productions of America​ (CRC/Focal Press, 2017), which came out from my Ph.D. dissertation. Book info

Do you have any advice for current or future students?

My advice for current and future students is to take advantage of all the learning tools, lectures and facilities that the University provide them, and to try to learn from everything they encounter in their every-day life. And for the international students, I recommend to explore and enjoy the South-East Asian culture as much as possible.

Brief introduction

Liu Yajing is a photographer and scholar, working in the field of contemporary photography, alternative photographic processes, and visual sociology. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of the Qingdao University in China. Her current research explores issues of cultural memory brought by rural landscape and heritage under the urbanization in China. Her photographs have been published in several magazines and have been screened in solo and group exhibitions and photography festivals worldwide. To name a few, Eyes On Main Street Wilson Outdoor Photo Festival, Dong Gang International Photo Festival, London Brick Lane Gallery; Humanity Photo Performance Awards.

PhD Thesis Title

​A Reconstructing cultural memory through landscape photography in China, 2000-2010

MOHAMMAD JAVAD KHAJAVI

• Theorizing animation-based media
  
• Information and Data Visualization
  
• Scientific and medical animation
  
• Immersive media and Virtual Reality
  
• Game Studies

YU MENG TING

• Learning how to learn (hard and soft skills)
  
• Ability to master and do original research in any subject systematically, methodologically and efficiently
  
• Persistence and patience
  
• Work and life balance
  
• Time management
  
• Critical thinking
  

• Get to know your supervisor before you begin your PhD.
  
• Students and supervisors might have different working styles, for this developing and establishing a ground-rule that works for both parties will be very helpful from the start of supervision. So communicate with your supervisors the kind of assistance you might need, and don’t be afraid to ask fro help when you need it.
  
• Allow backward steps after making forward steps in the learning process.
  
• Familiarize yourself with the research resources available at the ADM and make the most of them.
  
• There is free counseling services available on campus and please seek help when you want to talk to someone about anything.
  

Peer Mohideen Sathikh 

Peer Mohideen Sathikh is a practicing artist-designer-engineer who has become a researcher interested in theoretical frameworks that can best drive research in art and design through his association as an academic with the School of Art, Design and Media at NTU.  His different ‘avatars’ have seen him as a passionate industrial designer working on products ranging from hearing aids to interactive kiosks, as a design consultant and entrepreneur who has founded two companies of which is one is successfully operating, as a human factors expert specialised in the design of mission critical operations centres for rapid transport systems and finally as an academic and researcher. Peer Sathikh’s encounter with interaction design piqued his interest in artificial intelligence (AI), especially in how humans and AI can have meaningful and social interactions in the future. His present research on natural interaction with the Ais in an autonomous vehicle has set out some important postulates on how we humans should be prepared to have relationships with the emerging intelligence entities.

His present job as an Associate Professor at the School of Art, Design and Media of NTU allows him to teach undergraduate and post graduate modules that stimulate thinking in the designers and scholars alike. His post graduate module titled Design: An Asian Perspective discusses on the influence of culture, heritage and the religions of Asia which allows researchers to build theoretical frameworks for deriving research methodologies that may be applied to their postgraduate studies.

PhD Title and Research 

Cogito : Intelligo : Efficio - Evolution of a Method for Valuable Innovation through the Study of the Relationship between Creativity and Innovation

This thesis seeks to identify a definable process from idea to innovation, via creativity. This has been approached by analysing the relationship between creativity and innovation in both the arts and sciences, and by investigating the interwoven complexities of difference and complementarity from the mid twentieth century to the present day. A partial autoethnographic approach has also been utilised to draw on the author’s long experience as an industrial designer to realise a synoptic map as a method for understanding valuable innovation and the myriad routes to it.   

This research was driven, in particular, by the author’s key questions: “Why and how did I become an innovator from a creative person? What is the difference? What has led to this change? What then is creativity and innovation?” These personal questions were then contextualised within an academic analysis of the journey from ‘creative’ to ‘innovation’, and culminated in the creation of a synoptic map depicting the routes to meaningful innovation for individuals, businesses, communities and / or societies. This synoptic map is tested and validated through five distinct case studies in the area of applied art, in particular industrial design, and exemplified by a showcase from an established creative artist / designer / innovator from Singapore.