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Merlyna Lim

Director

Current positions:

Home department: School of Journalism & Communication, Carleton University

Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0n08ml4AAAAJ&hl=en

Biography

Born and raised in Dayeuhkolot (Indonesia), Merlyna Lim is Canada Research Professor (former Canada Research Chair in Digital Media and Global Network Society), Full Professor of Communication and Media Studies, and ALiGN Media Lab founder and director. Merlyna’s research interests revolve around the mutual shaping of technology and society, especially digital media, information technology, data, social media, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, in relation to human connectivity and collectivity. Among her notable publications are Social Media and Politics in Southeast Asia (Cambridge University Press), Roots, Routes and Routers: Communications and Media of Contemporary Social Movements (Sage), and Online Collective Action: Dynamics of the Crowd in Social Media (Springer).

Holding degrees in architecture and architectural engineering from the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) and University of Parahyangan (Unpar, cum laude) in Indonesia, Merlyna Lim received her doctoral degree in Science and Technology Studies (cum laude) from the University of Twente in the Netherlands. She is an inter and trans-disciplinary scholar who has published extensively in various disciplines, including communication and media studies, urban studies/sociology, geography, anthropology, religious studies, journalism, Asian studies, Middle East studies, information and library science, computer science and information systems (see publications).

An award-winning author and scholar, in 2016, Merlyna Lim was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s New College of Scholars, Artists, and Scientists,  a recognition of her significant and multidisciplinary research contribution and leadership. On the 2020 International Women’s Day, she was named one of “Top 10 International Women Leaders and Researchers“. Merlyna is a recipient of the 2013 Best Publication Award in Information Systems and the winner of the 2002 American Society of Information Science and Technology (ASIST) International Paper Contest. She was named one of “100 Most Inspiring Indonesian Women” by the Kartini Foundation in 2011, “One of 100 Most Prominent Alumni of ITB” in 2020, and one of “25 Notable Alumni of University of Twente” (2023).

She has been awarded dozens of research grants/awards from various institutions such as Canada Research Chairs, Social Science and Humanities Research Council (Canada), Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Research Fund, the National Science Foundation (United States), the Ford Foundation, the Volkswagen Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Merlyna has also been awarded research and visiting fellowships from various universities such as London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Princeton University, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) (Leiden, The Netherlands), University of Southern California, and the East West Center (Washington DC).

Over the course of her career, Merlyna Lim has delivered more than 250 invited talks and presentations all over the globe and appeared in more than 200 media coverages, including The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and CBC News.

Previously she was a Visiting Research Professor with Princeton University’s Center of Information Technology Policy, a Distinguished Professor of Technology and Public Engagement at Arizona State University, and a Networked Public Research Fellow at the Annenberg Center for Communication, University of Southern California.

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