Aaliyah Thomas (L) and Amy Deatherage (R) at the SACNAS 2025 NDiSTEM Conference.

Undergraduates present research, earn recognition at SACNAS conference

Amy Deatherage, Global Environmental Science major, was honored with an Undergraduate Poster Presentation Award in Marine Sciences at the SACNAS 2025 NDiSTEM Conference, the leading multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM conference in the country.  Deatherage presented her work to characterize the aggregating behavior of ha‘uke‘uke–a native species of sea urchin in Hawai‘i. Her mentors are Kuʻi […]

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Kanoa doing field work on Maui with colleagues.

Student expands research on microplastics in Hawaiian waters

After graduating from Kalaheo High School, Hope Kanoa knew she wanted to focus on Hawaiʻi’s water resources while attending the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She found a fitting option in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), which offers a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Earth Science. As an undergraduate student, […]

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Joseph Keawe‘aimoku Kaholokula (L) recognizes Kelsea Kanoho Hosoda.

Hosoda honored with Blazing Flame Professional Award

For Kelsea Kanoho Hosoda, receiving the American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s (AISES) Blazing Flame Professional Award marks a full-circle moment in her mission to uplift Indigenous students in STEM. The national honor recognizes her decades of work expanding opportunities for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students. “I’ve been a part of AISES since I […]

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The Sand Dance book cover

Earth scientists author children’s book, support O‘ahu keiki to mālama ‘āina 

With a focus on communicating science to children through holistic, age-appropriate storytelling, the Coastal Research Collaborative (CRC) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa developed an educational initiative for keiki that aims to foster a deep connection to the land and community. Helena Andrade, Earth Sciences doctoral student, created CRC Keiki, the educational offshoot of […]

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(L to R) Kekuʻiapōiula Keliipuleole, Alan Toshio McFall, and Alex Gallardo

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This is a time to reflect on and celebrate the important role that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) have played in American history, culture, and society.  We pay tribute to the generations of AANHPI people who enriched America’s history and are instrumental […]

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Kade Jacang during his summer internship with local nonprofit KUPU

Graduate champions fishpond restoration, food security in Hawai‘i

This month, graduates of the Global Environmental Science (GES) undergraduate program at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa took with them a bachelor’s degree and real-world, hands-on experiences with research that benefits communities and ecosystems in Hawai‘i and beyond. Through the GES program in the Department of Oceanography at the UH Mānoa School of […]

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From left: Anne Innes-Gold, Marine Bio; Audrey Nash, Atmospheric Sci; ARCS members Dr. Carol Stratford and Patty Lee; Jade Comellas and Tanner Hayes, Earth Sciences; Christina Comfort, Oceanography

ARCS awards support grad student research in ocean, earth, space sciences

Doctoral students in several SOEST departments were named 2025 Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholars of the Year at the ARCS Award Banquet held May 5. “This was our impressive group of scholars to date,” said ARCS Honolulu President Cheryl Ernst. “While they can’t make up for loss of federal science funding, ARCS Awards provide students with valuable […]

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Ken Husty Tungpalan on Kilauea during the 2018 eruption

Earth science student unveils treasure trove of Pacific Island climate stories

Originally from Dingras, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines, Ken Husty Tungpalan’s family came to Honolulu, Hawai‘i for a better life and better opportunities. While at Waipahu High School, and now an University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa undergraduate student, Tungpalan has pursued and created opportunities to advance his knowledge and academic career.     Tungpalan is majoring […]

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Kacie Kajihara

Grad student’s marine microbe research supported through Denise B. Evans Fellowship

SOEST graduate student Kacie Kajihara was selected as this year’s Denise B. Evans Fellow. This fellowship will support Kajihara’s quest to better understand one of the most abundant marine microbes.  Kajihara is pursuing a doctoral degree with the Marine Biology Graduate Program in Mike Rappé’s Aquatic Microbial Ecology Lab at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine […]

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