Speakers

Prof. Ir. Teuku Faisal Fathani, Ph.D. is a distinguished academic and senior public official with over 25 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, disaster risk management, and intelligent early warning systems. He currently serves as the Head of the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG), where he leads the integration of engineering innovation, data-driven decision making, and advanced monitoring systems to strengthen national climate and disaster resilience.

He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia, and completed his Ph.D. at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan. Prior to his current role, he held several key academic leadership positions at UGM, including Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Head of the Center of Excellence for Disaster Mitigation Technology Innovation (PUI GAMA-InaTEK), and Head of the Master’s Program in Disaster Management.

Internationally recognized for his pioneering work in community-based multi-hazard early warning systems, Prof. Faisal holds six patents and has contributed to the development of national (SNI) and international (ISO) standards. His work reflects the convergence of intelligent systems, engineering, and data informatics in advancing sustainable and resilient societies.

Prof. dr. ir. F.J. Verbeek is a Professor at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), Leiden University, with an interdisciplinary background in Computer Science and Biology and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics. His research focuses on image analysis, particularly in microscopy imaging, where he develops advanced methods for feature extraction, segmentation, and classification within the life sciences domain.

His work integrates artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and image processing techniques to analyze complex biomedical data. A significant part of his research emphasizes visualization of research data and virtual reality applications, aiming to enhance understanding of biomolecular processes through computational modelling and interactive systems.

Prof. Verbeek is actively involved in teaching Image Processing and Analysis at the master’s level and contributes to Human Computer Interaction courses within the Media Technology and Computer Science programs. Through the Imaging & BioInformatics research group at LIACS, he supervises research projects that bridge imaging, visualization, and human-centered computing in advanced scientific environments.

Dr. William Chandra Tjhi is the Head of Applied Research at AI Singapore and a distinguished expert in the field of artificial intelligence, with a strong focus on linguistic inclusivity and accessibility. He leads initiatives to develop language-specific Large Language Models (LLMs) tailored for Southeast Asia’s diverse linguistic landscape. With over 15 years of experience in AI and machine learning, he has contributed significantly to the advancement of AI technologies through his work with leading organizations such as GovTech and Traveloka.

Dr. Tjhi earned his Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where he specialized in unsupervised learning for text data. His research interests include fuzzy co-clustering algorithms and cloud-based data analytics, with numerous academic publications in these areas. He also serves as an advisor at the Indonesia AI Institute, where he provides strategic guidance on artificial intelligence training and development for both governments and corporations.

In addition to his role at AI Singapore, Dr. Tjhi is a technical advisor at the ASEAN Applied Research Centre and works as a part-time machine learning consultant for a stealth technology startup founded by a co-founder of Traveloka. His work is driven by a commitment to making AI technologies more accessible and inclusive, ensuring their benefits reach diverse communities across different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.