Growth in Asia

Orlando Woods joined SMU in 2017. He holds BA (First Class Honours) and PhD degrees in Geography from University College London and the National University of Singapore respectively. His interdisciplinary research agenda spans social, cultural and political geography; urban studies; new media and communications; and critical infrastructure studies. Empirically, his work focuses on South and Southeast Asia.

Fiona Williamson joined SMU in 2018. She is an environmental historian with a particular interest in the history of the climate, meteorology and extreme weather in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

• PhD, LLM (Cambridge)
• LL.B., National University of Singapore
• Advocate and Solicitor (Singapore)
• Solicitor (England & Wales) (non-practising)

Academic Positions Held

Current Appointment:

• Professor of Law, School of Law, Singapore Management University, Jan 2013 to Present
• Associate Provost (Research Governance), Office of Provost

Previous Appointments:

Dr Jacob Ricks joined SMU in 2013. He finished his PhD at Emory University, his MA at Northern Illinois University, and his BA at Utah State University. His research focuses on ethnic and national identities as well as the political economy of development in Southeast Asia, with a special emphasis on Thailand. He is co-author of Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia (Cambridge University Press 2022) as well as articles in outlets such as World Politics, Political Behavior, World Development, and Pacific Affairs, among others.

Qualifications

• PhD (Sociology), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2011
• MALD, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, 2004
• BA (Economics), Middlebury College, 1998

Research and Teaching Interests

• Development
• Urban Studies
• Political Sociology
• Democracy
• Infrastructure
• Service Learning

Course(s) Taught in SMU

• Sociology Study Mission
• Contemporary South Asian Societies
• Public Policy Task Force