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Students address local issues through eight-week research program

two students in lab
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two students in lab
Students learned about the scientific method and being thoughtful, ethical researchers.

When Kona Low storms flooded Konawaena High School on Â鶹´«Ã½ Island in March 2026, campus repairs forced every student and teacher into distance learning less than 12 weeks before graduation. For Konawaena alumna Sophia Burgess, watching her school navigate this major disruption became the force behind her research journey.

She enrolled in the immersive eight-week Summer Research Institute (SRI), offered by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa (CTAHR) to take a deep dive into the resilience of the high school¡¯²õ seniors, their parents and their teachers. Burgess earned her first place overall for her poster and research presentation at the SRI competition.

student looking at species
Students researched a range of topics, including invasive species.

Learning to conduct research

Introducing students to research is the mission of the CTAHR¡¯²õ summer institute. The program challenged 53 high school students and college undergraduates to use the scientific method to investigate the barriers their communities face in food systems, environmental sustainability and resilience.

Each student was assigned a faculty mentor and spent at least 25 hours a week in research and study. Weekly lunch-and-learn sessions taught students how to define a research question, gather and analyze data, evaluate the ethics of research and the scientific method, and communicate complex ideas to diverse audiences.

Participating students also took field visits to several of CTAHR¡¯²õ Centers for Applied Research and Extension Services (CARES), including stations in Pearl City and in Windward Oʻahu for activities such as tending native plant gardens, agroforestry and community gardening. Working alongside UH researchers, students could earn valuable college credits.

The eight-week investment culminated in a poster symposium on July 24, where more than 200 family members and friends showed up to celebrate the young leaders.

“Being able to go through the research process and having those challenges and those highs made it feel a little bit more real and made me feel more prepared for the symposium, rather than just studying or reading about research,” Burgess said.

students measuring a tree
Fieldwork was a major part of the SRI.

Symposium winners

  • Best Overall
    • 1st place: Sophia Burgess (mentor: Marielle Hampton, assistant extension agent, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences)
    • 2nd place: Sophia Elise Morales (mentor: Zhiqiang Cheng, specialist, Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences)
    • 3rd place: Danica Ibanez (mentors: Assistant Specialist Jean Butel and Assistant Professor Lara Hackney, Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences)
  • Honorable Mention
    • 1st place: Minhee Kim (mentor: Zhi Yang, assistant professor, Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences)
    • 2nd place: Noah Birn (mentor: Jane Marian Luis, assistant specialist, Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences)
    • 3rd place: Kaipo Akioka, Nainoa Johnson, and Arthur Ortiz (mentors: Assistant Specialist ¡®Ilima Ho-Lastimosa and Professor Theodore Radovich, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences)
  • Director’s Award
    • Recipient: Amy Li (mentor: Jane Marian Luis, assistant specialist, Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences)

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