The University of �鶹��ý at Hilo campus transformed into a living laboratory on November 20 for high school students from Keaʻau, Hilo, Waiākea, �鶹��ý Academy of Arts & Science and Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu to explore how mapping technology is used to solve real-world problems.

UH �ᾱ����’s GIS Day brought an industry-standard celebration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) directly to �鶹��ý Island.

“I think events like this are really important to get the students involved,” said UH Hilo Professor Ryan Perroy, a member of the event organizing team. “Anytime we can get local students here to UH Hilo and see the facilities and see different projects, it’s fantastic.”

Organized by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) and its STEMworks program, the event marked a significant expansion of STEM outreach to rural communities, previously held only on Oʻahu and Maui.

Connecting students to real-world solutions

From tracking invasive species to mapping lava flows, students saw firsthand how GIS technology is critical to �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’sfuture. Workshops included drone and light detection and radar demonstrations, wayfinding activities within a cyber canoe room, and using ground-penetrating radar to see beneath the earth’s surface.

“The most surprising thing was when we got to use one of the scanners that they use to see under the ground,” said Kambree, a junior at Keaʻau High School. “I thought that was cool, because they want to make it a point to make sure that they don’t harm the actual land.”

Empowering rural communities

Lalaine Pasion, STEMworks Program manager at MEDB, emphasized the impact of representation.

“A lot of times students in rural areas don’t know what’s out there and available to them,” she said. “I believe the students did not even know what GIS really was or that there is a huge industry right here in their community,” she said. “There’s so many careers out there, and we want to make sure that these students understand that there is a field in GIS that they’re able to explore, have access to it, and see real industry at work—especially here at UH Hilo.”

To better protect �鶹��ý’s people and ecosystems from threats, such as wildfires, drought, flooding, hurricanes, tsunamis, water contamination and more, University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� and Georgia Tech researchers have secured a to build faster, cheaper, locally made sensors that deliver potentially life-saving data in real-time.

The funding will support the development of low-cost sensors that can be printed in minutes and deployed the same day to collect actionable data for communities and organizations across the state. These sensors could measure water quality or soil contamination signals, and then connect to an AI-enabled handheld device smaller than a cell phone, that processes and transmits data to the web in real-time. Users could then view and interpret the data via a publicly available dashboard.

Community kuleana

To ensure its success, the technology will be co-designed with groups who have kuleana (responsibility) for communities, land and water across �鶹��ý, including land stewardship organizations, Hawaiian-language immersion schools and community colleges. These ʻ�徱�Բ� (land) stewards, kūpuna (elders), residents and kumu (teachers and educators) will guide priorities, experiment with prototypes and define success criteria.

“We can shorten the path from idea to instrument and build sensors tuned to local priorities without relying on centralized, hard-to-access facilities,” said principal investigator and UH ����ԴDz� Associate Professor . “Our goal is a design-to-deployment pathway that works on-island: robust, affordable and replicable.”

The team is developing the sensors to pair with a small, durable edge device that can harvest and store energy, run machine learning models and work even with limited network connectivity. An open library of circuits and firmware will let partners quickly customize sensors for measuring targets from pH and turbidity to heavy metals and contaminants.

“This grant recognizes that �鶹��ý is a key leader in the proper design of disaster and hazard response cyberinfrastructure,” said Josiah Hester, a Kanaka ʻŌ���ɾ� (Native Hawaiian) and associate professor of computing at Georgia Tech. “Deploying AI devices in austere environments, making AI interpretable and understandable, and providing these capabilities to everyone are key goals we will achieve. As a Native Hawaiian scientist and technologist, it is my own kuleana to translate these technologies that support stewardship, and we as a team are excited to see this work support our communities.”

Building on community ties

The project grows from existing relationships across Oʻahu, Maui and Kauaʻi, including Hawaiian-language immersion schools and stewardship organizations, where residents, educators and resource stewards will guide priorities. The team will convene iterative design workshops, peer exchanges between partner sites on Oʻahu and Maui, and a capstone gathering to synthesize findings and share open designs. Data governance will follow established frameworks to support local control and appropriate confidentiality for sensitive results.

“Our approach follows advances in community-centered co-design where we will design the sensing agenda together with community partners,” added co-principal investigator Aurora Kagawa-Viviani, assistant professor in UH ����ԴDz�’s and in the . “Building strong and equitable relationships ensures the technology and the data it produces have lasting value long after the prototype. Our design process considers who maintains it, how the data are stewarded, interpreted and made useful for community decision-making.”

The grant will support hands-on training that connects students across K–12, community colleges and research universities with partner sites. The team’s open hardware, software and design artifacts will be released for others to adapt in island, rural and urban settings facing similar hazards.

A team from the University of �鶹��ý at Hilo is taking a bird’s-eye view in the fight against one of �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s most damaging invasive insects, the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB).

Researchers from UH �ᾱ����’s (SDAV) Lab joined the Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC) on an aerial survey over Kona in October. Flying aboard a helicopter equipped with high-powered cameras and GPS, the group scanned about 4,000 acres for mulch piles and signs of beetle activity.

“The goal of this survey was to fly over residential areas to search for mulch and green waste piles so BIISC can better target their ground surveys for CRB grubs and beetles,” said Olivia Jarvis, a geospatial research associate who earned a bachelor’s degree in and a master’s degree in at UH Hilo.

The flight team included pilot David Okita from Volcano Helicopters, BIISC’s Dustin Swan, and SDAV researchers Jarvis and Andrew Meyer and Ryan Perroy, a UH Hilo professor who leads the SDAV lab.

“My main contribution on the day was to help set up SDAV’s helicopter imaging rig, which allows us to securely mount visual cameras for helicopter based mapping operations,” said Meyer who also earned an environmental science degree at UH Hilo. “I was also providing our skillful pilot, David Okita, a flight guide to ensure we effectively map the area of interest.”

Back to the lab

Back in Hilo, the SDAV team analyzed more than 6,000 high-resolution images, digitally stitched into a single mosaic map. Researchers searched for mulch piles, damaged coconut trees, or other clues of beetle presence.

Researchers hope the view from above can make tracking the invasive beetle faster and far more effective.

—By Susan Enright, UH Hilo Stories

Scientists at the University of �鶹��ý have developed new wildfire risk maps to better predict fire danger across the state. Unlike the current Red Flag Warning system, which relies on weather from a limited number of stations, these maps provide a daily, high-resolution look at the most current fire ignition risks statewide.

“This new mapping system gives us a clearer, more detailed picture of wildfire risks across �鶹��ý. By providing daily updates and a long-term dataset, we hope to improve preparedness and help protect communities from future fires,” said Professor Sayed Bateni of UH ����ԴDz�’s (WRRC) and .

Publicly available on the �鶹��ý Climate Data Portal (HCDP), the maps are easy to access and available to communities and emergency responders to alert them to the risk of potential wildfires. Users are able to zoom in to a particular area to assess the current fire risk, and generate customized packages of data to export from the portal. Historical fire risk maps are also available for the past 20 years.

The maps are generated using real-time data obtained from various weather networks across the state including the . The �鶹��ý Mesonet currently consists of over 60 advanced weather stations with a total goal of 100 within the next two years. These stations provide valuable weather and climate monitoring and forecasting. The data collected can also be used for water resource management, agriculture, ranching, ecosystem and cultural resource protection and more.

“It’s all about improving preparedness, especially in light of recent disasters like the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and the tragic Lahaina fire,” said Tom Giambelluca, retired UH ����ԴDz� professor of Geography and Environment, former director of the WRRC, and leader of the �鶹��ý Mesonet. “With real-time data on factors like soil moisture, we can better identify areas at high risk for wildfires or flooding.”

Utilizing a well distributed network of weather stations is crucial in �鶹��ý, where diverse landscapes create extreme climate variability. In West Maui, annual rainfall can differ by more than 140 inches within a mile, highlighting the need for precise, localized data.

“The �鶹��ý Mesonet is adding high quality weather observations in places where they are most needed,” Giambelluca said.

“This mapping system is a game-changer for wildfire preparedness in �鶹��ý,” said Clay Trauernicht, assistant specialist in the UH ����ԴDz� . “Using current data allows us to better anticipate fire risks and take proactive measures to protect communities.”

The �鶹��ý Emergency Management Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency and �鶹��ý State Legislature provided funding to create the fire ignition probability maps.

Bateni, Giambelluca, Trauernicht and Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center University Consortium Director Ryan Longman will host a presentation in person and online on April 1 at noon to explain how the maps were created, how they predict fire risk and how to access and use the data.

• Note: To view the most current maps, visit the �鶹��ý Climate Data Portal website, click on “visualize data,” then “ignition probability” to select the dataset you would like to view and then click submit at the bottom.

A geographer at the who specializes in high-tech aerial imagery will survey five coastal parks across the state to assist with climate change adaptation planning and resilience modeling.

Ryan Perroy, a UH Hilo professor, and Seth Quintus, associate professor of at UH Mānoa, are co-principal investigators on the project. The researchers received a $1.15 million grant from the National Park Service (NPS) to .

“Sea level rise, storm frequency, flooding and erosion are the main threats of concern to cultural resources,” said Perroy.

The UH researchers will partner with the NPS to build on prior documentation and research by piloting high-resolution digital documentation to identify cultural resources in: Haleakalā National Park on Maui; Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Molokaʻi; and Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, Puʻukoholā National Historical Park, and Puʻukoholā Heiau on �鶹��ý Island.

Efficient data collection

The researchers will use remote sensing to survey expansive land areas more accurately and efficiently than ever before. They will collect data located in near shore areas and adjacent to flood prone stream corridors using high resolution digital technologies such as helicopter and drone-mounted imaging.

“Data will be used for the development of condition assessment and monitoring protocols by the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa Department of Anthropology,” explained Perroy.

Perroy’s expertise is in remote sensing, high-resolution mapping, geospatial data analysis and aerial robotics. He oversees a spatial data analysis and visualization lab, housed in UH �ᾱ����’s geography and environmental science department, which utilizes geospatial tools to local environmental problems in �鶹��ý and the Pacific region.

Hands-on training

The project will provide funding and training for students, two from UH Hilo and two from UH Mānoa. The students will gain experience in advanced remote sensing techniques and gain skills in the collection, post-processing, and analysis of remotely sensed data.

—By Susan Enright