Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung, Ph.D., was the Model UN speaker in 2012, and is an associate Professor of Political Science Department and faculty advisor of Model United Nations Program at UMass Lowell.
Her bachelor is in political science at Indiana university, Masters in international relations, and Ph.D. in political science at the university of Wisconsin, Madison. She has been at U mass Lowell since 2004, where she teaches international relations, Southeast Asian politics, ethnic conflicts, democracy and democratization and political economy. She has published four books and numerous articles on Southeast Asia and Burma. A native of Burma, Ardeth’s current research project focuses on survival strategies adopted by ordinary people in authoritarian and poor countries and their political and economic implications. Ardeth has received fellowships from the Australia National University, Asian Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, East West Center Washington DC, and Southeast Asian Institute in Singapore. She is a recipient of the 2010-2011 Fulbright research grant and a recipient of 2007 Outstanding teacher of college of Arts and Humanities.