Chairs
Nia Naelul Hasanah Ridwan is a maritime archaeologist and the former Head of Research Institute for Coastal Resources and Coastal Vulnerability at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Republic of Indonesia. Currently, she is doing her PhD at Flinders University, Australia. Her interests are shipwreck vulnerability, the interrelation of UCH site and its environment, WWII wrecks, sustainable UCH tourism, inclusive and integrated UCH management, UCH community and stakeholder engagement, maritime trade, and UCH illegal salvage and illicit trafficking. She is co-chair of the APConf 6.
Veronica Walker Vadillo is a maritime archaeologist based at the University of Helsinki. Her interests are maritime cultural landscapes in riverine spaces, ritual practices surrounding the construction of dugouts, and traditional ecological knowledge. She is co-chair of APConf 6.
Brian Fahy is a maritime archaeologist with an interest in shipwreck narratives and maritime networks. His research focus is on material analysis from shipwreck sites. He is co-chair of the APConf 6.
Local Organizing Committee
TBD
Coordinators
Elena Perez-Alvaro is a NRF SARCHI Postdoctoral Fellow at Nelson Mandela University and an Expert Member of the ICOMOS International Committee on the Underwater Cultural Heritage. Her interests are the Intangibility and Sustainability of underwater cultural heritage. She is the Panel and Abstract submissions and evaluations coordinator of APConf 6.
Jennifer Craig is an underwater archaeologist untethered. Her interests are connecting our human-water interaction to our terrestrial narrative. She is lead publications coordinator of APConf 6.
Natali Pearson researches and teaches at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, the University of Sydney. She is a heritage studies scholar with a particular interest in the politics, ethics and management of underwater cultural heritage in Southeast Asia. Natali is our PR and Social Media lead during APConf 6.
Michelle Damian is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Her research focus is on medieval Japanese maritime trade and seafaring. She is the Website and Graphic Design coordinator along with Kurt Knoerl for APConf 6.
T. Kurt Knoerl is an Assistant Professor of History at Georgia Southern University where he teaches maritime history, maritime archaeology, and digital history. He is is the Website and Graphic Design coordinator along with Michelle Damian for APConf 6.
Ross Anderson is a Curator with the Western Australian Museum, with research interests in maritime and underwater cultural heritage, cross-cultural contact, and museology. He is currently President of the Australian Association for Maritime History. Ross is the coordinator for the Fundraising and Sponsorship committee for APConf 6.
Organizing Team
Bill Jeffery is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Guam. His maritime archaeology interests include revealing the multi-vocality and maritime cultural identity inherent in maritime archaeological sites in the Asia-Pacific region. As former chair of the APConf, he provides support in various roles during the APConf 6.
Hans Van Tilburg is a maritime heritage manager for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and a member of ICOMOS-ICUCH. His focus is UCH preservation in the Asia-Pacific region. As former chair of the APConf, he provides support in various roles during the APConf 6.
Young-Hwa Jung is an underwater archaeologist and conservation scientist at the National Royal Palace Museum, Korea. He mainly focuses on developing exploration technologies and policies for the investigation and protection of underwater cultural heritage. He is supporting the Fundraising and Sponsorship Committee during APConf 6.
Akifumi Iwabuchi is professor of maritime and underwater archaeology at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. He is a member of ICOMOS-ICUCH and Vice-President of the Japan Society for Nautical Research. He is our Japanese liaison during the APConf 6.
Jennifer McKinnon is an archaeologist and Professor in the Program in Maritime Studies at East Carolina University. She works in the Pacific and focusses on conflict archaeology and community and public archaeology. She is the North America liaison and will support the Panel and Abstract Submissions committee during the APConf 6.
Ellen Lekka is the Programme Specialist for Culture at the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States based in Samoa. As part of her role she supports Pacific States with capacity development initiatives to protect underwater cultural heritage in the frame of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. She is the UNESCO liaison for APConf 6.
Abhirada Komoot is a maritime archaeologist currently based at Thammasat University. Her research interest is broad, including ship archaeology, maritime cultural heritage management, and legal issues. Her role at the APConf6 is as the Southeast Asian liaison.
Wijerathne Bohingamuwa is a maritime archaeologist based at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. His research interests are Indian Ocean maritime networks and Sri Lanka’s Premodern external connectivity. During the APConf 6 he will act as our Sri Lankan liaison.
Carlota Perez-Reverte is an underwater archaeologist and researcher at the University of Cádiz (Spain). She focuses on public archaeology and strategies for the management and communication of maritime and underwater cultural heritage. At APConf 6 she is the Latin America liaison and supports Elena Perez Alvaro in the Panel and Abstract Submissions and Evaluations committee.
Jay Mok is a maritime archaeologist at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology and the Oxford China Centre. She previously worked at the University of Hong Kong, focusing on digital humanities and maritime heritage in East Asia. For APConf 6, she is the Regional Liaison for Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and leads the Publication Committee. She also supported the Publication Committee in APConf 5.
Konpal Kaur is a maritime historian specializing in trade and trading routes in South East Asia, at Georgia State University. Her varied maritime fieldwork experience is driven by her commitment to exploring synergies between private, public, and legislative sectors for the preservation of underwater cultural heritage.
Koh Min Yu is an emerging historian focusing on medieval Korean material culture. Her research interests include heritage preservation policy, collection management, and the historical maritime trade networks and interactions between the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia. Min Yu supports the APConf 6 as a member of the Events and Workshop Coordination Committee.
Ligaya Lacsina is a maritime archaeologist with an interest in ancient boat building in Southeast Asia, specifically in lashed-lug construction. She teaches at the School of Archaeology at the University of the Philippines Diliman and hopes to help in contributing to the growth of maritime and underwater archaeology in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. She supports the APConf 6 as a member of the Ethics and Accessibility Committee.
Michael Ng is an underwater archaeologist and assistant curator at the Asian Civilisations Museum. He has been involved in terrestrial and underwater archaeological projects in Singapore, Southeast Asia, Australia, and Jordan since 2009. His research interests include ship construction, trade ceramics, submerged cave archaeology, military history and archaeology, and public archaeology. He supports the APConf 6 as part of the Events and Workshop Coordination Committee as well as the Fundraising Committee.
Anja Krieger is an archaeologist with a research focus on the archaeology and anthropology of maritime cultural landscapes/seascapes and maritime lifeworlds in the Mediterranean and East Asia and the role of maritime heritage in contemporary societies. Anja supports Michelle Damian and Kurt Knoerl as a member of the Website and Graphic Design committee for APConf 6.
Kong F. Cheong is a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the American University in Washington D.C. and an archaeologist at the Georgia Department of Transportation. As the field director for the Integrated Socio-Ecological History for Residential Patterning, Agricultural Practices, and Water Management (IRAW), he has conducted multiple field seasons of excavation at Bagan, Myanmar (IRAW@Bagan) and at Hoa Lu, Vietnam (IRAW@Hoa Lu). He has also researched and published on the Ancient Maya, the Indian Ocean World, residue analysis on ancient foods and beverages, archaeomusicology, residential settlement pattern, gender, ancient trade and exchange, and craft production.
Sufiyan Hanafi is a Collections Manager at the Heritage Conservation Centre (HCC), Singapore, where he oversees the long-term care and accessibility of extensive archaeological collections. With a career rooted in National Heritage Board (NHB) museums, Sufiyan combines practical expertise in collections management with a specialized background in conservation. He holds a degree in History and a Master’s in Conservation Studies, providing him with a holistic perspective on repository stewardship.