Computer Science

Prasanna Kumar 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.

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. He is also the program director for Master of Science in Computer Science.

Dr. William Zheng Shou Kang 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. Christopher Teoh Chong Keat received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Before joining DigiPen (Singapore), Christopher held various roles in both academia and the industry, including lecturing in colleges in Malaysia. Christopher moved to Singapore in 2019 to pursue a career in data science and information technology.

Christopher’s research interests include metaheuristic algorithms, operations research, machine learning algorithms, and natural language processing. He currently teaches the python programming language, as well as topics related to data algorithms and machine learning. As an instructor, Christopher hopes to inspire his students to reach higher to achieve their full potentials.

Outside the classroom, Christopher is an editorial board member of the Journal of Autonomous Intelligence. To date, he has published nine academic papers related to operations research.

Dr. Soroor Malekmohammadi Faradounbeh holds a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering and a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence from Azad University in Iran. She also has a Doctor of Philosophy in Game and Computer Engineering from Keimyung University in South Korea.

Soroor’s wide range of research interests include artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural networks, deep learning models, graphics algorithms, game algorithms, virtual and augmented reality, computer vision and image processing, and natural language processing.

Prior to joining DigiPen (Singapore), Soroor was a researcher at Azad University and Keimyung University. She also taught and served as a teaching assistant for various computer science and game development courses through DigiPen Institute of Technology’s dual degree program in collaboration with Keimyung University.

Elie Hosry graduated from the Lebanese University in Beirut, Lebanon with a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2000. Following graduation, he joined DigiPen (Singapore) 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 committee.

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

Tomas Arce-Gil holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from New York Institute of Technology.

Tomas is a 19-year veteran of the game industry. He has created technology platforms, led R&D, QE, and production teams, and managed pipelines for a broad range of game developers. The technology he helped advance is used in the creation of games such as the All-Star Baseball series, NFL Quarterback Club series, Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000, South Park: Chef’s Luv Shack, Tribes Aerial Assault, The Hobbit, Area-51, and Hannah Montana Spotlight World Tour. He also assisted in the production of the Saints Row and Red Faction series and helped direct Sid Meier’s Pirates for Wii and Monster Jam, among others.

Tomas has worked at several large companies such as EA, THQ, Disney, and Acclaim, as well as other studios such as Inevitable Entertainment and Iguana Entertainment. He has served in a variety of roles throughout his illustrious career from programmer to manager. His positions have included CEO, CTO, lead programmer, technical director, and senior technical director, during which time 130 programmers worked under him.

As an entrepreneur, Tomas has co-founded Tenacious, which helped Disney complete one of their products, and LIONant, a game developer and outsourcer.

Cheng Ding Xiang received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation from DigiPen (Singapore) in 2013. He also holds a master’s degree in computing specializing in artificial intelligence from the National University of Singapore.

Upon graduation, he joined Red Hare Studios as a programmer, where he worked on a mix of mobile games and software solutions. Building upon the knowledge and experience he gained there, Ding Xiang decided to set up his own independent game studio, Homeward Bound, in 2016. During this time, he developed an Android game prototype in Unity and helped port the smash hit Cat Quest to the Nintendo Switch. He later joined The Gentlebros full time as programmer to work on Cat Quest II.

Ding Xiang got his first taste of teaching as an adjunct lecturer at DigiPen (Singapore). He combines his knowledge and wide range of industry experience to guide and mentor his students, enabling them to find their own pathways and solutions for any challenges they face. Ding Xiang believes in extending empathy and understanding to all his students by tailoring his teaching approach based on each individual’s perspectives and learning styles.

In his free time, Ding Xiang volunteers at a non-profit organization that focuses on urban sustainability. His other interests include woodworking and performing fire spinning acts as part of Bornfire Circus.

Richard Thomas Tsao has a double major from Rutgers University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and Psychology.

Before joining DigiPen (Singapore), Richard was the chief metaverse officer at Chia Network where he worked on building an ecosystem bridging gamers to the evolving metaverse. Prior to that role, Richard spent over 25 years in the video game industry where he held executive positions at Riot Games and Ubisoft, as well as senior managerial roles at Crytek and Microsoft. He is also an advisor to a few startups.

Richard is particularly interested in how emerging technologies such as blockchain and AI technology can be used in gaming. He especially enjoys coaching and mentoring students who are keen to become entrepreneurs.

Wong Han Feng, Gerald 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. He also oversees the Academic Support Center, which helps freshmen students with issues related to any given course.

In his free time, Gerald enjoys developing small projects, playing games, and pursuing music.

Parminder Singh holds a Bachelor of Computer Science and Engineering from Punjab Technical University in India.

With nearly two decades of industry experience, Parminder has worked in automotive visualization, geospatial apps and navigation, film post-production software, and scientific simulation. He has also authored two books on modern computer graphics.

Parminder is particularly interested in developing cutting-edge computer graphics methods to achieve optimal real-time performance. Additionally, he is passionate about constructing specialized graphics engines to cater to native, embedded, and web applications.

Outside the classroom, Parminder enjoys exploring new places, cooking, and spending time with his family and children.

Rudy Darth Castan holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation from DigiPen Institute of Technology.

As an experienced game programmer, Rudy is particularly interested in C++, computer graphics, and game development. Prior to moving to Singapore, Rudy was a lecturer in an educational partner program between DigiPen Institute of Technology and Keimyung University in South Korea.

Rudy helps facilitate project courses and enjoys guiding students by helping them achieve their “aha!” moments during their studies.

Priyanka Hriday Bhoyar received her master’s degree in computer science and engineering with distinction and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Nagpur University, India. She also holds a postgraduate diploma in data science and engineering from Great Lakes Institute of Management, Bangalore. Before joining DigiPen (Singapore), she worked in the IT industry as a data scientist in sectors such as healthcare and e-commerce. Prior to that, she also worked as an assistant professor in India.

Priyanka’s research interests lie in networking, image processing, and machine learning. She has published research papers in top international journals and conferences. She also received a best faculty award during her academic experience.

Priyanka is passionate about teaching. At DigiPen (Singapore), she teaches Python, data structure, databases, and machine learning.

Tan Chee Wei “Tommy” graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation from DigiPen (Singapore) in 2013.

He started his career at Koei Tecmo Singapore before moving to Yoozoo Games as a senior game programmer where he helped developed a game in the MMO space shooter genre. Most recently, he was the lead programmer at UDREAM Entertainment helping develop hypercasual mobile games.

Tommy is passionate about game design, creation, and automation. At DigiPen (Singapore), he teaches game project classes as well courses on C# and Unity. He enjoys interacting with students and finds it rewarding when he helps students finally grasp concepts that previously challenged them.