Traheka Erdyas Bimanatya​
American University
Economics

     Regional inequality remains a persistent challenge in many middle-income countries. While geography and factor endowments are often emphasized, growing evidence suggests that institutions and culture also shape uneven development outcomes. My dissertation examines how political institutions contribute to regional inequality in Indonesia. Using quantitative methods, I explore three related questions: How does the rise of political Islam in local parliaments affect resource allocation? Does incumbent participation in local elections influence district-level labor market outcomes? And does historical exposure to ethno-religious violence continue to shape development outcomes today?

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Herman Manoe
Emory University
New Testament Studies

     Existing scholarship on 1965 has largely emphasized macro-political tensions—such as the conflict between the Western and Eastern blocs, or between Sukarno/ABRI and Suharto—and how these culminated in mass killings, long-term trauma, and the fragmentation of families. My research shifts attention to the micro-level dynamics of violence, examining how tensions, jealousy, and hostility among ordinary people—neighbors, siblings, and local communities—also contributed to the escalation of violence. In this sense, the study complicates the familiar proverb “gajah dan gajah berkelahi, pelanduk mati di tengah” (when elephants fight, the mousedeer dies in the middle), by suggesting that even the “mousedeer” participated in the violence against one another. This perspective highlights the complex and intersecting axes of power that shaped the tragedy. Through this research project, I aim to contribute to Indonesian academia by advancing interdisciplinary scholarship in my haunted postcolonial reading that bridges theology and biblical interpretation, history, and critical theory. 

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Suci Nazier
Ohio State University
Health and Rehabilitation Science

     The aim of this study is to generate evidence to improve equitable, family-centered rehabilitation services for children with physical disabilities caused by cerebral palsy (CP). CP is highly prevalent in Indonesia, which ranks among the top 10 countries worldwide in the number of cases. The study explores the lived experiences of caregivers in accessing rehabilitation services for children with CP in Indonesia. It builds on my prior published research on CP rehabilitation practices in Indonesia and will provide context-specific evidence to guide service improvement. The findings may also inform future research in the Pediatric Assessment and Rehabilitation Lab (PEARL Lab), where I am completing my PhD training under the supervision of Dr. Jill Heathcock, to design and test context-specific therapeutic interventions for children with CP and their families in Indonesia and other lower-middle-income countries with similar settings.

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Diana Purwaningrum
University of Maryland
Teaching, Learning, Policy, Leadership

     Diana’s dissertation aims to value the lived experiences and linguistic diversity of Indonesian undergraduate women who experienced gender-based violence (GBV) and to explore their multimodal makings as mediums of self-expression, resistance, and healing. Two research questions drive the inquiry of this study: 1) How do Indonesian undergraduate language major women who have experienced GBV language their experiences multilingually and multimodally? 2) How do informal gatherings that incorporate multilingual and multimodal makings create space for healing and resistance with Indonesian undergraduate language major women? Using a feminist multimodal critical discourse analysis, this research interrogates unequal power structures that (re)produce GBV within and beyond higher education institutions in Indonesia while centering the multilingual and multimodal practices of Indonesian undergraduate language major women. It combines semi-structured interviews and ngumpul (informal gatherings) with a women’s psychologist and activist who will share resources and build solidarity with survivors of GBV. This dissertation research advances scholarly knowledge of healing and transformation among survivors of GBV and offers insights for more inclusive higher education.

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Leni Amelia Suek
Oklahoma State University
Curriculum Studies

     This study explores the lived experiences of early career English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers as they move from university preparation into classroom teaching in Indonesia. The research focuses on graduates of a teacher education program in a province that is among the poorest in the country and has one of the lowest Human Development Index levels. In regions like this, educational challenges are often more visible, yet research on teacher preparation and classroom realities remains limited. Through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, the study examines how teachers perceive their preparation and how they navigate the demands of school practice during their first years of teaching. Although the study is conducted by one teacher educator at a regional university, its impact can extend far beyond the institution. Insights from this research may influence how future teachers are prepared, shaping the practices of teachers who will go on to teach students across many schools in Indonesia. By focusing on an underrepresented region, the study brings attention to voices and experiences that are often overlooked in national discussions on education.

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Mega Wulandari
The Ohio State University 
Multilingual Language Education/Teaching and Learning

     Mega's research project investigates how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher candidates (calon guru Bahasa Inggris) in Indonesia, integrate GenAI into the development of digital multimodal instructional materials. The research is situated within a teacher preparation course focused on designing materials tailored to students’ specific needs. While Indonesia characterized by high digital adoption, it faces a significant challenge with low literacy rates (PISA, 2022). Consequently, this study moves beyond vieweing AI as a “shortcut,” instead reframing it as a collaborative tool to enhance pedagogical quality. By utilizing AI to streamline the creation of digital worksheets, videos, and presentation slides, the study explores how the teacher candidate can use GenAI critically and ethically by implementing pedagogical reasoning of the AI output into their multimodal artifacts. It also addresses the issue of teacher candidate attrition from the profession. Data collection includes interview, the qualitative analysis of student-created artifacts, teaching demonstration and AI interaction logs that document participants’ pedagogical decision making. The objective of this research is to demonstrate how AI can be leveraged to improve instructional standards while preserving teacher cognition in the Indonesian context.

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Muhammad Ikbal Putera
North Carolina State University
Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management

     Muhammad Ikbal Putera is a Fulbright doctoral student in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University under the supervision of Dr. Yu-Fai Leung. Since February 2015, he has worked as a park ranger at Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where he currently serves as a Senior Forest Ecosystems Specialist under the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. In this role, he supports Komodo dragon conservation, tourism policy, and visitor management. His doctoral research explores pathways to youth stewardship in protected areas, using Komodo National Park as the primary case study.  Through this research, Ikbal aims to reconnect young people with nature while fostering stronger awareness of, and commitment to, conservation. His work bridges academic inquiry and field-based practice, drawing on more than a decade of experience in one of Indonesia’s most globally significant protected areas. After completing his doctoral degree, he aspires to return to Indonesia and contribute to stronger national park governance, with the long-term goal of serving in leadership roles, including as Superintendent of Komodo National Park and, eventually, Director General of Natural Resources Conservation and Ecosystem Management within the Ministry of Forestry.

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Yana Karisma​
Ohio State University
Multilingual Language Education

     Yana’s dissertation is positioned as a pioneering study examining the intersection of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), translanguaging, and indigenous language preservation in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Indonesia. Recognizing the region's linguistic superdiversity, his research challenges traditional, deficit-based "English-only" policies. These rigid frameworks often fail to view a student's mother tongue as a valuable cognitive asset for acquiring English. In response, this study conceptualizes GenAI not merely as a passive machine translation tool but as an interactive translanguaging partner. ​Furthermore, this research aims to decolonize English language teaching. It provides empirical evidence on how AI-mediated translanguaging empowers multilingual students from rural and semi-urban backgrounds to adapt global technologies while confidently asserting their authorial voices and cultural identities.

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Eva Mushoffa
Ohio State University
Political Science

     Eva’s project investigates how leaders’ personalism influences democratic backsliding at the provincial level, drawing insights from Indonesia, the largest democracy in Southeast Asia. The study proposes that personalist leaders—who rely on clientelist networks and governing coalitions—contribute to a decline in democratic quality, reflected in weaker legislative oversight and reduced electoral accountability. To test this argument, the research combines multiple methods, including an expert survey, analysis of governors’ CVs and media-based biographies across 31 provinces since 1999, panel data regression, and qualitative comparative case studies. The study will be complemented with a qualitative most-similar comparative case study to explore deeper causal explanations on why personalist leaders remain dominant in the selective cases. 

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Pratama Pradheksa
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Science and Technology Studies

     In Indonesia, the term mangkrak can mean something like "neglected," "abandoned," "left idle," "incomplete," or "stalled." Recently, multiple stakeholders have utilized mangkrak to characterize "incomplete" infrastructure, such as the waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator in Sunter, Jakarta (Sunter ITF). The WTE incinerator is supposed to solve two problems: waste management and energy generation. However, the Sunter ITF has clearly lost momentum prior to operation - it is mangkrak. This dissertation research investigates the complexity of Jakarta's ambitious Sunter ITF. The research is not solely focused on the Sunter ITF. It also examines community-led "Zero Waste" initiatives in urban areas like Bandung and Surakarta, which show how these communities have challenged WTE incinerators while simultaneously developing their own alternative waste management systems that incorporate multispecies infrastructures. The AICEF Travel Grant will support the remaining phase of the dissertation project's ethnographic fieldwork in Jakarta, Bandung, and Surakarta

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Krisharyanto Umbu Deta
University of California Santa Barbara
Religious Studies

    Umbu’s research examines how Marapu people in Sumba engage with—and disengage from—the state and Christianity in a range of ways that have reshaped the configuration of indigeneity, religion, and the state. Investigating this spectrum of (dis)engagements, his research aims to show how the dominant frameworks are neither completely renounced nor homogeneously internalized, but strategically engaged and thus reconfigured in people’s lived realities, challenging the submission-subversion dichotomy. The spectrum ranges from those actively involved in articulating and institutionalizing Marapu within the dominant frameworks of religion and institutional mechanisms of the nation-state to those who remain indifferent and less engaged in such advocacy. His ethnographic methods include participant observation and interviews with Marapu people and organizations, Marapu school teachers, government officials, civil society and religious organizations, including churches, and native scholars, as well as analysis of organizational and government documents. His research will contribute to rethinking and expanding the methodological approaches and theoretical registers pertaining to the relationships among religion, the state, and indigeneity, as well as the broader problem of social movement and resistance against the status quo. It will also inform multi-sectoral efforts of scholars, government, civil society, and indigenous communities themselves in advancing indigenous legal-political and social-cultural rights and recognition in Sumba and beyond.

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Alfath Satria Negara Syaban
The University of Alabama
Geography

     This research examines Indonesia’s relocation of its national capital from Jakarta to Nusantara (IKN) in East Kalimantan as a potential model for addressing multidimensional conflicts related to social inequality, economic disparity, political governance, and environmental sustainability. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines stakeholder interviews, surveys, spatial analysis, and policy review, the study evaluates how capital relocation may contribute to more balanced national development and inclusive governance. The project also aims to provide practical recommendations for transparent land management, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable urban planning that can support future large-scale development initiatives in Indonesia.​

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Mufdil Tuhri
Emory University
Religion/Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Religions

     This fieldwork project examines how Muslim bureaucrats in Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs translate the state agenda of “religious moderation” into everyday administrative and social practice. Based in Kerinci District, Sumatra, the project follows how religious moderation moves from national policy frameworks into local Ministry offices, sub-district Religious Affairs Offices, and village communities. Through fifteen months of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork, I will study how Muslim civil servants understand and enact religious moderation in their bureaucratic routines, public service, community engagement, and moral responsibilities. This fieldwork will contribute to broader anthropological debates on Islam, the state, religious governance, and bureaucracy

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Adelide Asriati Sekar Rianda
Texas A&M University
Marine and Coastal Environmental Science

     Adelide’s dissertation examines coastal groundwater dynamics and their role in solute and contaminant transport across estuarine and urban systems, with a particular focus on coastal groundwater discharge, seawater intrusion, and groundwater quality in vulnerable coastal environments. Her research investigates how urbanization, groundwater extraction, land subsidence, and hydrological processes influence groundwater and surface water interactions, nutrient transport, and contaminant migration in coastal aquifers and estuaries. By integrating field observations, geochemical analyses, and numerical modeling, the study aims to improve understanding of coastal aquifer behavior and the environmental impacts of groundwater-derived solutes on estuarine and marine ecosystems. The dissertation places strong emphasis on Indonesia’s rapidly urbanizing coastal regions, particularly Jakarta, where severe land subsidence and seawater intrusion threaten groundwater resources and water quality. Through comparative and process-based analyses, her research seeks to support sustainable groundwater management, improve understanding of coastal environmental degradation, and provide scientific insights that can inform environmental policy and water resource management in Indonesia’s coastal cities.

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Mesa Rahmi Stephani
Texas A&M University
Kinesiology

     Mesa's research aims to explore how learning experiences within PETE programs contribute to the teaching readiness of pre-service physical education teachers. By involving pre-service physical education teachers from PETE programs at various universities in Indonesia, the study seeks to identify key factors associated with teaching readiness. The findings are expected to provide empirical evidence to guide the evaluation and enhancement of PETE curricula and teacher preparation practices. Ultimately, this research could strengthen the preparation of future physical education teachers, improve the quality of physical education instruction, and support national efforts to promote active and healthy lifestyles among Indonesia's youth.

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