Astronomers using the have taken a major step in understanding the distant planet Uranus. By combining data from Keck Observatory with the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope, researchers created the first complete picture of how light reflects off Uranus’s faint outer rings.

The results reveal two very different stories. One ring appears to be made of tiny grains of water ice, likely chipped off a small moon. The other is darker and rocky, mixed with carbon-rich material. Together, they show how collisions and impacts continue to shape the planet’s ring system.

The findings offer new clues about how planets and their moons form and change throughout time.

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A University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa faculty member has earned international recognition for research that advances understanding in a key area of modern mathematics.

Department Chair and Associate Professor Malik Younsi received the 2026 Frontiers of Science Award from the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS). The honor recognizes major breakthroughs in mathematics, physics and engineering.

Younsi was recognized for a research paper co-authored with Dimitrios Ntalampekos on conformal maps, a topic in complex analysis that studies how shapes in the plane can be transformed while preserving angles. In simple terms, it looks at how you can stretch or reshape something—such as a map or a piece of rubber—without changing the way angles and corners fit together, similar to how digital maps adjust views while keeping locations accurate.

“Mathematics is often about finding hidden structure in things that seem complicated at first,” Younsi said. “This recognition highlights the value of staying curious and patient, and I hope it encourages students to see that even abstract ideas can lead to meaningful discoveries.”

The 55-page paper, published in Inventiones Mathematicae, looks at when flat shapes can be transformed into ones bounded by circles and points, building on a long-standing question called the Koebe uniformization conjecture. The research helps describe when there is essentially just one possible way to do transformation, giving a clearer understanding of how these shapes work.

The Frontiers of Science Award, launched in 2023, recognizes recent papers with lasting impact after a competitive global review process. Younsi’s work was selected by an international panel of experts for its contribution to complex analysis. He will be honored at the 2026 ICBS meeting in Beijing on August 9, where leading scientists from around the world will gather to present and discuss new discoveries.

The Department of Mathematics is housed in UH Mānoa’s .

University of �鶹��ý President Wendy Hensel provided updates to the UH Board of Regents on state legislative measures on tuition and fee reserves during her monthly report at the board’s April 16 meeting at Kapiʻolani Community College.

Hensel noted that the Legislature continues to consider proposals related to tuition and fee reserve balances and that the university is developing reinvestment plans to strengthen advising and student support services and expand statewide online learning opportunities. She added that the university is having productive conversations with legislators and recognizes the challenges they face in balancing many urgent needs for �鶹��ý’s people this year.

Her report also highlighted record breaking systemwide participation in UH Giving Day, which generated more than $1.3 million from more than 1,580 gifts across the 10 campuses.

Hensel concluded by congratulating the No. 6 ranked UH ����ԴDz� women’s water polo team on advancing to its third consecutive NCAA national championship tournament appearance after .

• Legislative update: tuition and fee reserves ()
• UH Giving Day breaks record ()
• Rainbow Wahine water polo ()

The University of �鶹��ý has been designated as a new Pacific Reef Research Coordination Institute (Pacific RRCI) by the (NOAA) to support coral reef conservation in the Pacific through research, collaboration and public education.

The Pacific RRCI will be housed in UH’s , under the aegis of the , and will perform the following critical functions: conduct federally directed research to fill national and regional gaps; collaborate with relevant states and territories, Indigenous groups, coral reef managers, non-governmental organizations, and other coral reef research centers; assist in the implementation of the NOAA’s National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy and coral reef action plans; build non-federal capacity for management and restoration practices; and conduct public education and awareness programs.

“This new institute combines UH’s strengths in cutting-edge, ocean-related research and our collaborative, place-based approach to working with resource managers throughout �鶹��ý and the Pacific to protect our vital coral reefs,” said Chad B. Walton, UH interim vice president for research and innovation. “At the same time, it provides us with further opportunities to develop our region’s next generation of researchers and managers in the field of conservation futures.”

To restore and preserve coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. from natural and human-related effects, the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 was reauthorized and modernized by the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021, which was included in the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act that became law in 2022. The reauthorized law required the designation of two RRCIs, one each in the Atlantic and Pacific basins, was required. The RRCIs were chosen from 32 preselected coral reef research centers and were designated based on the results of technical merit and panel reviews. The Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021 was introduced and sponsored by �鶹��ý Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie K. Hirono, and Congressman Ed Case.

The UH-led institute will be guided by experienced reef researchers from UH Mānoa’s Kewalo Marine Laboratory and the �鶹��ý Institute of Marine Biology, UH Hilo’s Marine Sciences program, and the University of Guam’s Marine Laboratory. It will support research, monitoring, capacity building and outreach for coral reef management throughout the U.S states and territories of American Samoa, Guam, �鶹��ý, and the Northern Marianas Islands and with the Freely Associated States of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

“Many people worked many years to make this vision for collaborative reef research across the Pacific a reality,” said Suzanne Case, director of the Office of Land and Ocean Conservation Futures. “We’re excited to jump in with scientists and communities and agencies across the region to take it forward.”

The University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� conference schedule for the fall 2026 season was announced by the Mountain West. This marks the Rainbow Wahine’s first season as a Mountain West member.

Five home series headline UH ����ԴDz�’s schedule. The Rainbow Wahine will play a two-match series with each of the nine other teams in its debut season in the league.

The ʻBows will open the Mountain West season hosting New Mexico September 25–26 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, and alternate road and home series over the next five weeks. The Rainbow Wahine will wrap up the home schedule with a four-match homestand against Nevada, November 6–7, and Air Force, November 13–14. UH ����ԴDz� will face UTEP in its final game of the regular season before heading to Las Vegas for the Mountain West Volleyball Championship set for November 24–25.

2026 Mountain West Schedule

• September 25 — New Mexico, Bankoh Arena
• September 26 — New Mexico, Bankoh Arena
• October 2 — at Grand Canyon
• October 3 — at Grand Canyon
• October 9 — San Jose State, Bankoh Arena
• October 10 — San Jose State, Bankoh Arena
• October 16 — at Wyoming
• October 17 — at Wyoming
• October 23 — UNLV, Bankoh Arena
• October 24 — UNLV, Bankoh Arena
• October 30 — at UC Davis
• October 31 — at UC Davis
• November 6 — Nevada, Bankoh Arena
• November 7 — Nevada, Bankoh Arena
• November 13 — Air Force, Bankoh Arena
• November 14 — Air Force, Bankoh Arena
• November 18 — at UTEP
• November 19 — at UTEP
• November 24–25, Mountain West Championship — Las Vegas, Nevada

Head coach Robyn Ah Mow enters her 10th year leading the program with a roster that features four returning starters who each earned All-Big West honorable mentions last season, including setter Adrianna Arquette, libero Victoria Leyva, outside hitter Chaʻlei Reid and middle blocker Mililana Sylvester. The ʻBows have signed six newcomers for the 2026 season, including transfer pin hitters Maëli Cormier and Panna Ratkai, who enrolled at UH ����ԴDz� for the spring semester.

All women’s volleyball conference matches will be available live on the .

Fans interested in purchasing season tickets can place a deposit for early seat selection by visiting . More information regarding public sale dates for season and individual game tickets, and the Rainbow Wahine’s nonconference schedule will be announced at a later date.

See UH ����ԴDz�’s full Mountain West schedule at .

Danielle Bartz, a PhD candidate in at the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa, has received a . Initially selected by the Zonta Club of Hilo for a $2,000 local award, Bartz advanced to the international competition, where she emerged as one of 16 recipients worldwide. This $10,000 award recognizes outstanding women in STEM, with honorees representing nine countries in this year’s cohort.

Bartz’s research leverages cutting-edge environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies combined with local ecological knowledge shared by the community to monitor marine biodiversity and assess critical habitats. She developed a novel, low-cost eDNA water filtration system, which has the potential to revolutionize marine biodiversity monitoring by making it more accessible and cost-effective, particularly in resource-limited settings. This project was supported by the Patents2Products Fellowship through the UH Office of Innovation and Commercialization.

“It’s an honor to be part of a global group of women working to advance STEM, and I am very thankful for the opportunities I’ve found through the Zonta Club,” Bartz said. “I’ve connected with this phenomenal network of women supporting women. My goal is to make marine research more accessible while working alongside local communities to protect culturally and ecologically important species.”

Bartz’s dissertation examines the disappearance of a culturally and ecologically significant shark species in �鶹��ý. Her research, which confirmed a shark nursery habitat in Hilo Bay, contributed to the area’s first formal recognition as a vital shark habitat by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

• Related UH News story: Shark nursery habitat research earns PhD candidate top international award, March 20, 2025

The Zonta Women in STEM Award uplifts innovation and celebrates the remarkable accomplishments of women between 18-35 years of age in STEM fields and acknowledges their groundbreaking research, pioneering discoveries, and/or exemplary contributions to advancing knowledge and innovation in a STEM field.

The Marine Biology Graduate Program is an interdisciplinary program co-administered by UH Mānoa‘s and the .

This week’s UH News Image of the Week is from UH ����ԴDz�.

Aloha Bash is on Friday! Students from all UH campuses are welcome, so featuring Grant Nakasone for more info! (No students were harmed in the making of this video.)

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At the Merrie Monarch Festival, hula’s most celebrated stage, one hālau‘s story of change and renewal rose to the top in 2026.

Hālau Hiʻiakaināmakalehua earned top honors at the 63rd annual competition in Hilo, sweeping major categories. The group earned first-place finishes in kāne (men) overall, kāne ʻauana (modern hula), and both wāhine (women’s) kahiko (ancient hula) and kāne kahiko.

The hālau is led by Kumu Hula Robert Keano Kaʻupu IV, a graduate of Honolulu Community College.

“I’m still in shock,” Kaʻupu said. “I’m not surprised because they worked hard and they did exactly what they needed to do, but I’m in shock. This year more than ever it was the purpose of the journey, more than the destination. And so I am really appreciative for the recognition. There are no words to really describe what I feel.”

Turning point

The win followed a year of deep change.

Kaʻupu and Kumu Hula Lono Padilla founded the hālau together. In 2025, Padilla stepped away for personal reasons. The departure reshaped the Oʻahu hālau.

Kaʻupu described it as a time of upheaval. One that pushed both him and his haumāna (students) to reflect and rebuild.

“That’s part of the process,” he said. “Acknowledging the catastrophe, acknowledging the upheaval, acknowledging the overturn. Our lives were deconstructed and now let’s find the processes to reconstruct, rebuild, regenerate, re-energize.”

That idea guided their performances at this year’s festival.

Hulihia, overturning

Kaʻupu chose mele (songs) that mirrored both his experience and that of his hālau. Their performances centered on hulihia, a Hawaiian concept that speaks to overturning and transformation.

In the kahiko category, the wāhine performed hula kālaʻau (dancing stick) to Kau Kahaʻea Ke Ao Uahi I Luna. The mele is a creation story, where akua (deities) shape a submerged island still forming off �鶹��ý Island.

Kaʻupu‘s kāne followed with Hulihia Ka ʻĀpapa Ka Unu Koʻakoʻa O Ka Moana. Their performance evoked the ocean floor shifting and fire rising from below, as life emerges through heat and pressure.

Together, the pieces reflected a simple truth that change can be destructive, but it also creates space for renewal.

UH roots

Kaʻupu, a Keaukaha native, attended UH Hilo before moving to Oʻahu. He continued his studies at Honolulu CC, entering the cosmetology program and graduating in 2007.

“I thought I knew how to do hair until I went through the program,” he said. “They just expedited and transcended the technical skills for me. I am super, super grateful for that.”

For years, those skills helped shape his presence at Merrie Monarch, where he handled his dancers’ hair and makeup, an important part of the competition’s scoring. He also designs every costume, sketching ideas by hand before working with a seamstress to bring them to life. However, for each of his Miss Aloha Hula contestants, he sews each piece himself.

In many ways, that same cycle of creating, overturning and rebuilding reflects where Kaʻupu stands now, as he continues to grow into his role.

“Trust your gut, trust your kūpuna (elders),” he said. “Find the things that serve you and let go of the things that don’t. There’s always regeneration. You just have to trust the process.”

—by Moanikeʻala Nabarro

At the University of �鶹��ý, Giving Day is a 24-hour fundraising event to support our UH students and embrace the rich diversity and expansive reach of our university system.

At the (JABSOM), where more than 90% of students are awarded some form of scholarship, donors make a great impact in their journeys in medicine. For first-year medical student Emma Pinnow, that journey started with the ʻImi Hoʻōla Post Baccalaureate Program.

Read more UH Giving Day stories

Ahead of a Giving Day appearance on �鶹��ý News Now, JABSOM sat down with Pinnow.

Q: How did ʻImi Hoʻōla put you on a path to medicine?

I come from a family deeply rooted in �鶹��ý’s public school system, so while education was always the priority, medicine was a brand-new endeavor for me. My dream was always to stay home, to be near family and learn to provide care specifically tailored to our people here in �鶹��ý. ʻImi Hoʻōla, which means “those who seek to heal” in ʻŌ������� �鶹��ý, was the bridge to that dream. It’s a rigorous 12-month journey, and completing it provided me with automatic admission to JABSOM. But more than just a seat in the class, it gave me the foundational competence and the unshakeable support system I needed.

I didn’t just gain knowledge, I gained a cohort, mentors and a community that believed in my potential when I was just starting out. What truly changed the trajectory for me was the generosity of our donors. I was fully prepared to take on a massive financial burden to pursue this path, but because of their support, my experience was tuition-free. This didn’t just save money, it gave me the gift of time and focus. Instead of juggling my studies with a job, I can dedicate 100% of my energy to the rigors of medical school. It only takes one group of people to believe in you to open a door. For me, that door was ʻImi Hoʻōla. It allowed me to show my potential and has put me on a path to serve the community that raised me.

Q: What are your goals in medicine?

I’m currently a little more than halfway through my first year, and honestly, it’s been very exciting. Every week I’m exposed to a new specialty or a different organ system, and I’m making it my goal to learn as much as I can and to lean into every opportunity to the fullest extent. While I haven’t settled on a specific specialty yet, I have settled on the where and the who. No matter what field I choose, I am committed to serving the people of �鶹��ý. This is my home, and I truly can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Being Native Hawaiian, I am especially aware of the health disparities our community faces, particularly with cardiometabolic disease. One of my primary goals in medicine is to directly address these inequities. I want to take the education we receive here at JABSOM, which emphasizes culturally-competent care, and apply it in a way that resonates with our local population. Ultimately, my goal is to bridge the gap between high-level medical science and the unique cultural needs of our islands. Giving back to the community that raised me is my way of honoring where I come from.

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Visualizing a future where to survive rising tides has earned a University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa research team the 2026 Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) Best Journal Article Award.

The team leveraged scientific data, studies and community participation to create architectural renderings that visualize how �²�����ī��ī’s built environment can be modified to accommodate future flooding.

“By merging climate science with architectural design and integrating direct community feedback, we are creating forward-looking, actionable visions that will help coastal communities like Waikīkī successfully adapt to the growing realities of sea-level rise,” said Wendy Meguro, principal investigator and associate professor.

Selected for its “exceptional quality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the field,” was honored in April at the 2026 ARCC–EAAE International Conference at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.

Engaging stakeholders

The research engaged more than 1,000 individuals, including residents, urban planners, government employees and local business owners. Presentations of these strategies have drawn hundreds of participants from recreation, hotel and restaurant industries. The findings are already being utilized by the City and County of Honolulu, the State of �鶹��ý and the Honolulu Climate Change Commission to guide adaptation policies.

“This recognition underscores the immense value of community-driven design in climate resilience,” said research associate Josephine Briones. “Our process shows that when you actively listen to stakeholders and combine their local insights with rigorous scientific evidence, the resulting adaptation strategies become much more practical, impactful and relevant.”

Authored by Meguro, Briones, German “Gerry” Failano and Charles “Chip” Fletcher, the project represents a partnership between the , and . It was funded by �鶹��ý Sea Grant, National Sea Grant and the Office of Naval Research.