Board Members
Prof. Dr. Volker Grabowsky
Chairman
Prof. Dr. Volker Grabowsky is professor for Languages and Cultures of Thailand (Thai Studies) in Hamburg since 2009.
Before that he was professor for History of Southeast Asia at the Institute for Ethnology at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster.
His special field is the history and cultures of the Tai people in mainland Southeast Asia and Southwest China.
Mail: volker.grabowsky@uni-hamburg.de
Pannarai Büchmann, M.A.
Language and Communication 2002, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok
Vice Chairwomen
Ms. Pannarai Büchmann has been a lecturer for Thai in the Thai Studies department of the Asia-Africa Institute at Universität Hamburg since winter semester 2017. Prior to that, she acted for Ms. Kaspar-Sickermann in this position from 2009 to 2011.
From 2007 to 2016 Pannarai Büchmann additionally taught several courses for Thai language at Hamburg’s adult education center (Volkshochschule).
Tel.: +49 40 42838-2668
Mail: pannarai.buechmann@uni-hamburg.de
Dr. Silpsupa Jaengsawang
Dr. Silpsupa Jaengsawang is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for the Studies of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) and a lecturer for Languages and Cultures of Thailand (Thai Studies) at Universität Hamburg. She received BA and MA degrees from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University and a PhD degree in Thai and Lao Studies from Universität Hamburg in 2019 while working as a research assistant since 2016. Her fields of specialisation are Tai manuscript cultures, ritual studies, and Thai literature. Funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the ongoing postdoctoral research focuses on Anisong manuscripts of Tai people in relation to new printing technologies since the late 19th century.
Mail: silpsupa.jaengsawang@uni-hamburg.de
Prof. Dr. Sven Trakulhun
Prof. Dr. Sven Trakulhun is a lecturer at the Potsdam University, focusing on (early) modern history, and lecturer for Thai Studies at the Asia-Africa-Institute of Hamburg University. Here he focuses on the history of the relationship between Europe and Asia, global and Thai history.
Mail: sven.trakulhun@uni-konstanz.de
Prof. Dr. Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit
Prof. Dr. Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit ist seit 2010 der stellvertretende Direktor des Kooperationszentrums der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) für Arboviren und hämorrhagische Fieberviren am Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin (BNITM) in Hamburg. Seit 2018 ist er Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Arbovirologie an der Universität Hamburg und Leiter der Abteilung für Arbovirologie und Entomologie am BNITM. Ein Schwerpunkt seiner Arbeit liegt auf den durch Stechmücken übertragenen Viren (Arboviren) in Südostasien, insbesondere in Thailand, Laos und Vietnam.
Pantipa Chuenchat, M.A.
Pantipa “Am” Chuenchat is currently a course instructor for Thai language and Thai cuisine at a Volkshochschule (Adult Education Center) in Germany. She also works at the DRK Familienzentrum (Family Center of the German Red Cross) in Henstedt-Ulzburg.
She spent several years as a Scientific Associate and lecturer in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies (Thai Studies) at the Asia-Africa Institute of the University of Hamburg, Germany. Her strong academic background includes positions as a lecturer at Kasetsart University and St. John’s University in Thailand. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Thai Literature with first-class honors and her Master of Arts in Thai Literature with a perfect 4.00 GPA from the Faculty of Humanities at Kasetsart University, Thailand. She is currently writing her PhD dissertation on Thai Studies at the Asia-Africa Institute of the University of Hamburg. Her scholarly background and current career reflect a dedication to the fields of integration in the education sector, cultural identity, and cultural studies across Thailand and Germany.
Prof. Dr. Tony Waters
Dr Tony Waters is a Professor of Sociology. Currently he teaches at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany. Previously he was at Payap University in Chiang Mai (2016–2022), and California State University, Chico (1996–2021). Long before that he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Phrae, Thailand (1980–1982), and worked in refugee camps in Nan and Phanat Nikhom (1982–1983). In order to work on his Thai language skills, he taught a Thai-English translation course at Payap University in 2016–2017.
Gaby von Malottki
Gaby von Malottki has been a member of the Hamburg Society for Thai Studies since 2017. She is a retired bookseller. Her first trip to Thailand was in 1974 to visit a colleague and friend who had remarried in Bangkok. This was followed by a friendly family visit. These positive experiences led to many more visits over the following decades. Being involved in everyday life provided access to life and culture that is not normally available to tourists. Added to this is a keen interest in the country’s diverse culture and history.
Other HGT Members
Dr. Peera Panarut
Dr. Peera Panarut is a postdoctoral researcher at the Exzellenzcluster ‘Understanding Written Artefacts’, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures at Universität Hamburg since 2019. His research project concerns the early 19th century literary inscriptions at Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho, Bangkok).
Before finishing his MA in 2015 and PhD in the field of Thai Language and Culture (Thai Studies) in 2019 at Universität Hamburg, he earned his Bachelor of Arts from Chulalongkorn University in 2012 with the major in Thai language and literature.
His research interests cover Thai philology (in particular, textual criticism, manuscript studies, epigraphy and palaeography), Thai classical poetry as well as Thai book history.
Mail: peera.panarut@gmail.com