Bernard F.W. Loo is Associate Professor of Strategy and War at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He completed his doctoral studies at the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2002.
He is the author of Medium Powers and Accidental Wars: A study in Conventional Strategic Stability (Edwin Mellen, 2005), and the editor of Military Transformation and Operations (Routledge, 2009). His other publications have appeared in the Journal of Strategic Studies, Contemporary Southeast Asia, NIDS Security Reports, and Taiwan Defense Affairs.
He is a regular commentator on defence matters, and his commentaries have appeared in The Straits Times ( Singapore), The Nation ( Thailand), and The New Straits Times ( Malaysia). He has been invited to speak at a variety of defence-related institutions and conferences, in China, Estonia, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
His research interests encompass war studies, strategic theory, conventional military strategies, strategic challenges of small and medium powers, and problems and prospects of military transformation. In addition to his academic responsibilities, Bernard is also concurrently the coordinator of External and Executive Education programmes, as well as the Military Transformations Programme, and the Military Studies Programme.
In whatever spare time that is left, Bernard is an enthusiastic (but less than accomplished) acoustic guitarist and home cook.
Alan Chong is an Associate Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He started out as a Senior Tutor with the Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1996. He completed his Ph.D. in 2002 at the London School of Economics and Political Science under sponsorship from the NUS.
A/P Chong’s primary research interests are in International Relations Theory, and linkages between Global Communications and International Relations. In this regard, his publications are concerned about expanding Nye's notion of soft power into operational uses in foreign policy. Most recently, A/P Chong is exploring questions relating to the seeming invisibility of Asian international theory.
His secondary research areas involve Singaporean politics and foreign policy, and Chilean politics and foreign policy.
Richard A. Bitzinger is a Senior Fellow with the Military Transformations Programme at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies, where his work focuses on military and defence issues relating to the Asia-Pacific region, including force modernization and defense transformation, regional local defense industries and armaments production, and weapons proliferation. He teaches the course on “The Revolution in Military Affairs and Defence Transformation.”
Mr. Bitzinger has written several monographs and book chapters, and his articles have appeared in such journals as International Security, Orbis, China Quarterly, and Survival. He is the author of Towards a Brave New Arms Industry? (Oxford University Press, 2003), “Come the Revolution: Transforming the Asia-Pacific’s Militaries,” Naval War College Review (Fall 2005), and Transforming the U.S. Military: Implications for the Asia-Pacific (ASPI, December 2006 ). He is also the editor of The Modern Defence Industry: Political, Economic and Technological Issues (Praeger, 2009).
Mr. Bitzinger was previously an Associate Professor with the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), Honolulu, Hawaii, and has also worked for the RAND Corporation, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Affairs, and the U.S. Government. In 1999-2000, he was a Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council of the United States. He holds a Masters degree from the Monterey Institute of International Affairs and has pursued additional postgraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Samuel Chan is an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
His research interests include the militaries of Singapore, the United States, and Israel; and Afghanistan and Central Asia.
He was formerly the Jebsen Fellow at the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies (CAPS) in Kabul, Afghanistan (2006), and in 2008/9 was a British Chevening Scholar where he read for a graduate degree in Russian and East European Studies at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford.
Ho Shu Huang is an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He has a B.A. (Hons) degree in History from the National University of Singapore (NUS), as well as an M.Sc in Strategic Studies from RSIS.
He previously worked at G1-Army, Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to set up the Army Museum of Singapore. While there, he interviewed numerous SAF servicemen and authored several of the stories featured on the Museum’s website and in the commemorative book, 40/40 – 40 Stories and 40 Years of National Service.
Shu Huang is interested in multiple aspects of the military - its history, the way the profession educates itself, the technology it uses, and its sociology, in particular, the cultural and social dimensions of the profession, and combat.
In his free time, Shu Huang enjoys off-road motorcycle trail riding and pondering the improbable.
Adrian Kuah is an Associate Research Fellow in the Military Studies programme at RSIS, with research interests in defence economics, defence technology, and the study of the armed forces through the lens of organization theory. More importantly, he is inching ever closer to the finish line for his doctoral studies with Cranfield University.
Prior to this, he was an economist with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, an investment banker with a local bank, and an analyst with a private sector consultancy.
He has a BA (Honours) in Economics and Politics from the University of York, and a MA in International Studies from the University of Warwick. He is also a CFA charter holder.
Ong Weichong is an Associate Research Fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He is attached to the Military Transformation Programme at the school’s constituent unit, the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies. He is also a lecturer at the Singapore Command and Staff College (SCSC) and Singapore Armed Forces Advanced School (SAS).
Since 2007, Weichong has been a doctoral candidate with the Centre for the Study of War, State and Society, University of Exeter, UK. He is a recipient of research grants from the University of Exeter and the Royal Historical Society. He is also an Associate of the Higher Education Academy, UK and a Visiting Scholar at the Swedish National Defence College. Prior to his PhD studies, Weichong resumed and completed his Full-time National Service as a Project Assistant with the Combined Arms Brigade Training Centre (CABTC), 6 Division. His other academic qualifications include Msc Strategic Studies ( Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2006); BA History ( University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, 2005); and Cert History ( University of Hull, UK, 2003).
Weichong’s articles and commentaries have been published in the flagship journal of the Royal United Services Institute - TheRUSI Journal, the magazine of the Singapore Armed Forces - Pioneer, The Straits Times and other fora of discourse on military and security studies. He recently co-edited Voice of the Malayan Revolution: The CPM Radio War Against Singapore and Malaysia 1961-1981 (RSIS, 2009) with Prof Wang Gungwu.
His research interests are War Studies, Military History, International History, Counterinsurgency and Media in Conflict.
He hopes to be a recipient of the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Service Medal before getting mugged by ‘reality’.
Alvin Tan is an Associate Research Fellow with the Military Transformations Programme. He graduated with a B.A. and B.Soc.Sc. (Honours) in Political Science from the National University of Singapore, and a M.Sc. in International Political Economy (IPE) from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). At NTU, he was awarded both the Lion Group Gold Medal for the top IPE student and the Tay Seow Huah Book Prize for the overall best M.Sc. dissertation. In 2008, Alvin was awarded the British-government Chevening Scholarship to read Public International Law at the University of Nottingham, where he graduated with a LL.M. (Distinction).
Formerly with the Singapore Foreign Service, Alvin served as the Political Officer in the High Commission in Canberra, during which time he also completed a Graduate Course in Diplomacy at the Australian National University.
An advocate for inter-disciplinary scholarship, his research interests revolve around inter-State relations and the role of international law in the conduct of such interaction. More specifically, Alvin is interested in issues relating to International Criminal Justice and International Criminal Law, International Human Rights Law, International Refugee Law and Forced Migration, as well as Penology and Criminal Sentencing.
During his undergraduate days, Alvin participated in an archaeological excavation along the banks of the Singapore River at Empress Place. On one of his visits to the site, he uncovered a 14th century Majapahit-style metal figurine of a rider on a horse, which has since gone on display at the Asian Civilisation Museum and the National Museum of Singapore. Alvin is married and has a young son.
Kelvin Wong Ka Weng is an Associate Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of international Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He is attached to the Military Transformations Programme at the School’s constituent unit, the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.
A recent graduate of the Graduate Studies in Strategy and Defence (GSSD) Programme at the Australian National University, Kelvin joined the RSIS in September 2009. His research interests revolve around the applications and consequences of technology for military forces, including the issue of oil dependency and potential alternative energy options. He hopes to develop the necessary skills and knowledge at RSIS to pursue a higher degree in the near future.
Prior to joining RSIS Kelvin was an intern at the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Singapore office (IISS-Asia) where he monitored Southeast Asian conflicts for the Armed Conflict Database. He has also been a Research Assistant to the Director of Studies at GSSD in 2008.
In his spare time he is an amateur photographer and a rabid fan of giant robots.
Kalyan M. Kemburi is a Research Analyst with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. His research interests include military modernization, nonproliferation, and foreign policy and political economy of China and India. He published with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
Kalyan previously worked as a research assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and as an intern at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, New York.