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The Department of Computer Science serves a core teaching unit for DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore’s Bachelor of Science programs. The department offers a breadth of courses that focus on a wide range of both foundational topics, such as introductory computer programming in core languages, as well as advanced computer science applications including artificial intelligence and graphics development. Department faculty bring years of professional and academic experience to the classroom, with cross-disciplinary backgrounds that include work in the games industry, software engineering, research and development, and electrical engineering.

Department Faculty

Prasanna Ghali

Provost, Acting Department Chair
Professor

Prasanna Ghali holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Since Prasanna joined DigiPen in 1994, he has been instrumental in developing and implementing DigiPen’s computer graphics and game software development curriculum. Between 1998 and 2002, he was the Vice President of Engineering at Nintendo Software Technology (NST).

During his tenure at NST, Prasanna served as the technical lead for several video game titles, including Ridge Racer 64, Wave Race: Blue Storm, and 1080° Avalanche. He was also the key software engineer for the design, development, testing, and benchmarking of video game prototypes on Nintendo’s Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, and GameCube platforms.

Prasanna returned to DigiPen in 2002 and has been DigiPen (Singapore)’s Provost since 2020, continuing his interest in teaching and researching various topics related to game development, including computer graphics and game engine design. He has co-published articles in various journals and is the author of nine U.S. patents, which deal with game design and/or game engineering.

Prasanna Ghali teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics Systems.

Dr. Liu Fang

Associate Professor

Dr. Liu Fang received her Ph.D. in computer science and master’s degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. Before joining DigiPen (Singapore) in 2017, she was an associate professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Her research interests lie in machine learning and pattern recognition. She enjoys talking with students about any topics related to artificial intelligence.

Fang currently teaches algorithm analysis, database, and programming courses while researching machine learning in games.

Dr. Liu Fang teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Game Design, Master of Science in Computer Vision.

Dr. Vadim Surov

Associate Professor

Dr. Vadim Surov received his Ph.D. in computer science and master’s degree in applied mathematics from Far-East State University, Russia. Before joining DigiPen (Singapore) in 2009, he held various positions within the industry and academia, including R&D work in South Korea under a government program. Since 2009, he has held a senior lecturer position in an educational partner program with DigiPen Institute of Technology and Keimyung University in South Korea.

Vadim currently teaches computer graphics and programming courses while researching the application of modern computing environments in education.

Dr. Vadim Surov teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Game Design, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics Systems.

Elie Hosry

Principal Lecturer

Elie Hosry graduated from Lebanese University of Beirut with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 2000. Following graduation, he joined DigiPen to begin working on the development of in-house game engines and tools.

Elie has served as a senior software engineer in the Research and Development department. He is also part of DigiPen’s curriculum development and the director of the Academic Support Center, which helps freshmen students with issues related to any given course.

Elie is a principal lecturer and teaches computer science courses and video game development classes.

Elie Hosry teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Game Design, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development.

Dr. William Zheng Shou Kang

Associate Professor

Dr. William Zheng received his M.Eng and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from National University of Singapore (NUS), and his B.Eng in information and controlling engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Before joining DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore in 2016, he was a scientist at A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research and held various positions in the industrial companies as an R&D engineer and product design engineer.

William’s research interests lie in the field of computer and communication networks, especially in wireless networks. He has actively participated in the standardization of IEEE 802.11ah. He also has a strong interest in applying his research findings toward real-world problems and has developed more than 14 international patents in the U.S. and Singapore. William also won the Best Paper Award for his research in IEEE at VTC2011-Spring and the Best Research Paper Award from the Institute for Infocomm Research in 2012.

William currently teaches in the areas of low-level programming and computer networks. He enjoys talking with students about real-world systems and networks, and enjoys talking with students about real-world systems and network applications.

Dr. William Zheng Shou Kang teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Game Design, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, Bachelor of Engineering in Systems Engineering (ElectroMechanical Systems), Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics Systems.

Dr. Chen Lujie

Associate Professor

Dr. Chen Lujie received his bachelor’s degree in mechatronics from Nanjing University of Technology, China in 2001 and his Ph.D. in Optical Metrology from the National University of Singapore in 2006. His research interests lie in the fields of computer vision, computer graphics, and medical imaging.

Prior to joining DigiPen (Singapore), Lujie was an assistant professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design for nine years and a post-doctoral associate at Cambridge University from 2007 to 2010. He has also worked as a software engineer in image processing, computer graphics, and computer vision technologies in the industry.

Lujie joined DigiPen (Singapore) in 2021 and teaches topics related to computer vision and video processing in the MS in Computer Vision program. What he enjoys most about teaching is interacting with students and helping them with their course projects.

Dr. Chen Lujie teaches the following degree(s): Master of Science in Computer Vision.

Dr. Jeremy Chew

Assistant Professor

Dr. Jeremy Chew obtained his bachelor’s degree and PhD in Computer Engineering from Nanyang Technological University in 1997 and 2002 respectively and also received a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Nottingham. Before joining DigiPen (Singapore) in early 2021, he worked at DSO National Laboratories for over 17 years, where he was a Senior Member of Technical Staff performing defense research and development.

Jeremy’s interest lies in the area of computer networks. He teaches high-level programming and is passionate about helping his students establish a strong basis on which to build their lives and careers upon graduating.

Dr. Jeremy Chew teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics Systems.

Dr. Bhargav Jayaprakash Bhatkalkar

Assistant Professor

Dr. Bhargav Bhatkalkar holds a BEng in Computer Science and Engineering from the Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, an MS of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from N.M.A.M. Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India.

Bhargav has done extensive research in the design and implementation of computer vision algorithms, specifically in the area of computer-aided diagnoses of retinal diseases using deep-learning techniques. He has published multiple papers on the subject and is also an active reviewer for many reputable peer-reviewed journals. Bhargav is also a senior member of IEEE, an internationally-recognized technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

Since he began his journey in the field of education, Bhargav has accumulated over 13 years of teaching experience for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across multiple colleges in India. He joined DigiPen (Singapore) in 2021 and teaches modules related to databases.

Dr. Bhargav Jayaprakash Bhatkalkar teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Game Design, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, Bachelor of Engineering in Systems Engineering (ElectroMechanical Systems), Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics Systems.

Gerald Wong Han Feng

Lecturer

Gerald Wong graduated from DigiPen (Singapore) with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Game Design in 2013.

Gerald was in the game industry for six years after graduating, working as a programmer for companies such as Koei Tecmo Singapore and UDream Entertainment. During his time in the industry, he helped to develop several web, mobile, and console titles. He also worked in Japan for over a year, experiencing many different development environments and challenges.

Gerald returned to DigiPen (Singapore) as a lecturer and currently teaches undergraduate computer science courses, where he shares his knowledge and experiences with his students. In his free time, he enjoys developing small projects, playing games, and pursuing music.

Gerald Wong Han Feng teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, Bachelor of Arts in User Experience and Game Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art and Animation.

Goh Jing Ying

Lecturer

Goh Jing Ying holds a Bachelor of Computing in Communications and Media from the National University of Singapore.

Before moving into education, Jing Ying worked at Daylight Studios. She joined the team in 2012 and was one of the directors at the indie studio, where she also doubled up as the company’s programmer and game designer. She is passionate about procedural generation and randomization in games, as well as innovative mechanics and storytelling techniques.

Since joining DigiPen (Singapore) in 2022, Jing Ying has been finding ways to convey important game design concepts and considerations to students to help them understand what is needed for games to be engaging. She also strongly encourages passion and interest in game design among students and enjoys working with them to develop their ideas into more complete game concepts.

Besides playing video games in her free time, Jing Ying also takes part in Chinese dance regularly.

Goh Jing Ying teaches the following degree(s): Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development, Bachelor of Arts in User Experience and Game Design.

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