SOEST faculty honored with 2022 UH Mānoa Awards
The 2022 UH Mānoa Awards are given to recognize the dedication and service of UH Mānoa faculty, staff, and students who are committed to enhancing the University’s mission of excellence. This year, three SOEST faculty members were selected as recipients of awards in teaching, research and graduate mentorship.
Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching
Bridget Smith-Konter, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, received the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching. This medal is awarded by the Board of Regents as tribute to faculty members who exhibit an extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, teaching effectiveness and creativity, and personal values that benefit students.
Smith-Konter is masterful at connecting with students of all academic interests, abilities, learning styles and personal backgrounds. Her classes mix lectures with interactive Q&A sessions highlighted with stunning still or animated imagery, and punctuated with short videos and group activities. One student said “most noteworthy, she makes us feel like a valuable addition to a research team and as a human being in her life.” Outside the classroom, “her contributions and influence on STEM education is truly extraordinary and may well be unmatched.” She leads by example and brings her heart into all her university and community projects. Her endeavors to “make Earth science accessible to underrepresented groups including Native Hawaiians are pertinent to an enriched and sustainable livelihood within Hawaiʻi.” It is a testament to her quality as an educator that she can communicate scientific principles to a diverse group of people, effectively tailoring information and learning from her audience in return.
Read more on the UH News story.
Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research
Brian N. Popp, a professor of Earth Sciences, was honored with the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research. This is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community.
Popp joined the UH Mānoa faculty in 1990 and is best known for his contributions to the field of stable isotope biogeochemistry. He published a landmark series of papers on the fractionation of carbon isotopes by marine microalgae, which allowed estimates of ancient atmospheric CO2 levels. These results led to honors, including the Geochemical Society Best Paper of the Year award and his election as a Geochemistry Fellow within the European Association of Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society. Popp contributed significantly to the demonstration that archaea are largely responsible for ammonia oxidation in the marine environment and that rates of archaeal ammonia oxidation are sensitive to small changes in ocean pH that will occur in a future acidifying ocean. His high productivity and impact are demonstrated by his more than 165 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. His career publications have amassed more than 15,000 citations.
Read more on the UH News story.
Peter V. Garrod Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award
Henrietta Dulai, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences and graduate chair in the Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) Graduate Program was selected for the Peter V. Garrod Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award. Established by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Graduate Division in 2005, this award allows graduate students to nominate faculty for excellent mentoring, one of the foundations of outstanding graduate education.
Dulai’s research program addresses pressing issues such as groundwater pollution and its effects on the sustainability of water resources and coastal environments, environmental radionuclide contamination, and application of chemical tracers to study the environmental impact of high population density, sea-level rise and climate change. Dulai is passionate about advising graduate students and supports their enthusiasm for research and scientific progress. She has advised nine MS students, three of whom continued on to a PhD track with her, and served on additional 15 PhD dissertation committees including 10 PhD comprehensive exam committees. The graduate students she worked with are lead or co-authors on 25 peer-reviewed publications. Dulai contributes to the efforts transforming academia into a more inclusive and diverse space, by fostering an inclusive and respectful atmosphere in the EPS graduate program.
Read more on the UH Mānoa announcement.