Across the state, thousands of �鶹��ý students spend months investigating scientific questions and testing engineering designs for school, district and . Behind these projects are University of �鶹��ý mentorship, expert judging and resources that turn classroom concepts into real-world research.

Connecting to real-world research

Science fair projects provide an opportunity to extend classroom learning. Radford High School science teacher Daniella Griffay borrowed from UH to teach wave speed and propagation. This led to a connection with Troy Heitmann, assistant researcher at UH’s , who mentored Radford student John Phillip English, on improving the magnets used in .

“This project provided a meaningful opportunity for a student to explore renewable energy technology while developing scientific reasoning, engineering design skills and experimental problem-solving experience,” said Heitmann.

In addition to Heitmann’s mentorship, English used resources developed by STEM Pre-Academy, with support from undergraduate student intern Erik Bendickson.

“The big thing that I learned from the science fair was despite things not going how you plan, it’s just important to be able to bounce back from that and be able to continue to work on something,” English said. “I think that more students honestly should work with professors at UH. It just gives you a different understanding of things. [Heitmann] would introduce a topic and he would explain it in a simple way and then he would build it up to what was more complicated. He went out of his way to make sure that I was progressing well with the project.”

“I’m not an engineer and needed guidance on how to support this student on their project,” said Griffay. “I am truly grateful not just for the equipment in the lending library but also for the collaborations and expert knowledge.”

Another two of Griffay’s students were connected by STEM Pre-Academy to a UH mentor, Associate Researcher Marek Kirs from UH’s . Kirs worked with students Maddison Soria and Skye Gussenhoven in their second year of a project, teaching them to cultivate bacteria and perform disk diffusion assays.

English, Soria and Gussenhoven advanced out of the Central District Science Fair and are headed to the �鶹��ý State Science Fair in April.

Read more about how UH is helping to inspire the Windward Oʻahu science community.

Materials science is the study and design of new materials and their properties, and it plays a crucial role in industries ranging from renewable energy and aerospace to electronics and national defense. Researchers at University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa’s (HIGP) are leading new initiatives to advance materials science across the state.

Materials Science Consortium for Research and Education

UH Mānoa launched the Materials Science Consortium for Research and Education (MSCoRE) in 2017, with a goal of bringing together materials experts and infrastructure scattered around several colleges and departments under one group in support of education, innovation and to lay the foundation for a future materials science center at UH Mānoa.

Under MSCoRE, UH Mānoa developed a popular research experience class for undergraduates and became successful in obtaining grants to bolster its materials science program. One of its early successes was earning a U.S. Department of Energy grant to study hydrogen storage materials.

Materials Research and Education Consortium

Utilizing this momentum, researchers from UH Mānoa and the University of Washington (UW) received a seed award from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) program in 2021. The collaboration, known as the Materials Research and Education Consortium (MRE-C), is made up of seven UH Mānoa faculty from HIGP, , and , as well as faculty from the UW Molecular Engineering Materials Center.

MRE-C conducts public school visits around the islands to increase student interest and participation in materials science and STEM, and facilitates student exchanges at the undergraduate and graduate levels between UH Mānoa and UW. The grant was recently renewed by NSF for a full six years at $4.2 million.

�鶹��ý Institute of Materials Research

As a testament to UH Mānoa’s expanding capacity and expertise in this space, the Office of Naval Research just awarded a three-year, $4.5 million grant to conduct innovative, high-risk scientific research with the potential to enhance naval capabilities and national security in the Indo-Pacific region. Together with the NSF PREM grant, UH Mānoa will now have a formal structure in place with the establishment of the �鶹��ý Institute of Materials Research (HIMaR). HIMaR will be a virtual, interdisciplinary institute of applied and fundamental research in materials science, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and advanced manufacturing.

Read more on materials science research at UH . Noelo is UH’s research magazine from the .

The Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of �鶹��ý Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community.

Sloan Coats

Sloan Coats is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences and an affiliate of the International Pacific Research Center at the UH ����ԴDz� School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. Coats joined UH ����ԴDz� in November 2019, after holding postdoctoral and positions at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, as well as faculty roles at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

His research combines advanced statistical techniques, climate models and both observed and paleoclimatic data to investigate climate variability and change across timescales. A key aspect of Coats’s work is its interdisciplinary nature, reflected in his contributions to diverse fields such as glaciology and seismology.

In addition to his research, Coats is a passionate advocate for the broader research community at UH. He co-directs the NSF-funded Earth Sciences on Volcanic Islands Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, which provides undergraduate students with hands-on research experience in Earth sciences.

Matthieu Dubarry

Matthieu Dubarry is an associate researcher at the �鶹��ý Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) in the UH ����ԴDz� School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. With more than 20 years of experience in renewable energy, he specializes in lithium-ion battery research.

He joined HNEI in 2005 as a postdoctoral fellow, analyzing the usage data from a fleet of electric vehicles. He was appointed to the faculty in 2010, where he has focused on battery testing, modeling and simulation.

Since 2014, Dubarry has led his own research group, supported by funding from federal agencies and industry partners. He is recognized for pioneering data-driven techniques to non-destructively assess lithium-ion battery degradation.

His work has produced a suite of software tools for predicting battery lifespan at both the cell and pack levels. His diagnostic model, ʻalawa—named for the Hawaiian word meaning “to diagnose with insight”—has earned global recognition and is used by universities and companies around the world.

Rick Kazman

Rick Kazman is the Danny and Elsa Lui Distinguished Professor of Information Technology Management at the UH ����ԴDz� Shidler College of Business. His research focuses on software architecture, analysis tools and technical debt. He helped develop several influential methods and tools, including the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method, Titan and DV8, which are widely used to evaluate and improve the structure and maintainability of software systems.

Kazman has authored more than 250 publications, holds three patents and has written nine books, including Software Architecture in Practice, Technical Debt: How to Find It and Fix It and Designing Software Architectures: A Practical Approach. His work has been widely adopted by Fortune 1000 companies and cited more than 30,000 times, according to Google Scholar.

A leading figure in his field, Kazman currently serves on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society’s Board of Governors. His contributions continue to shape industry best practices and advance the discipline of software engineering.

University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa researchers are preparing for the next phase of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant of up to $40 million to assist �鶹��ý farmers, ranchers and foresters implement sustainable, climate-smart practices.

The research team out of the UH Mānoa (CTAHR) is leading a diverse coalition of partners that is also aiming to establish stronger markets for locally produced, healthy food and forest products. The principal investigator, CTAHR Professor Susan Crow, participated in a question and answer session with UH News to provide a project update.

What has happened since the award was announced in 2022?

We have [enrolled] nearly 6,000 acres of agricultural land in the project across �鶹��ý Island, Kauaʻi, Maui, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi with more than 50 producers and practitioners in our first phase, with a second recruitment phase coming up. We wanted a portfolio that reflected the diversity of our producers across forestry, ranching, and crops, as those systems define �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s agricultural sector and agroecosystems. Beyond ranching, forests, the crops include coffee, ʻulu (breadfruit), avocado, nuts and fruit orchards, diverse crops including greens, herbs, beans, kalo, squash, cabbage, papaya, bananas, you name it!

We have been able to recruit and retain UH Mānoa graduates and staff to support the research efforts that include soil analyses from all enrolled farms and development of data-driven decision making tools grounded in equity and justice. Our Climate Smart Specialist team has logged 880 hours of direct producer support time and taken 401 deep soil carbon samples.

Can you expand on the soil sampling and its importance to the project’s first phase?

After nearly 20 years of research, and 19 extramural projects totaling $13.9 million, the �鶹��ý Soil Health Research Team released the �鶹��ý Soil Health test and scoring function in 2023. The �鶹��ý Soil Health test and the robust research program behind it serves as the basis for understanding what climate-smart means for �鶹��ý.

The initial samples, or baseline samples as we call them, taken for the climate-smart partnership enable us to understand how implementation of climate-smart practices such as mulching, soil carbon amendments like biochar and compost, and cover cropping supports not only soil health but also soil carbon storage, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Then, we monitor change over time as the practices are implemented and maintained.

What are the next steps?

The project is going beyond soil health, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction to support quantifying climate-smart for �鶹��ý to encompass social justice and equity. With our project partners in the UH Office of Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation and the �鶹��ý Natural Energy Institute (a UH Mānoa entity), we are ensuring that we quantify elements such as functional nutrition, circular economy, community wellbeing, and Indigenous genealogy.

This fall we will be opening the applications for phase 2 enrollment for producers and look to enroll 50 additional producers in our project.

As you move forward, what are you the most excited about?

Our partnership’s shared vision is to re-perpetuate health, resilience, and equity in �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s agroecosystems and communities. This project provides us the opportunity to define “what is climate-smart” in a way that embodies place-based equity, and here in �鶹��ý, indigeneity is part of that.

We support science-backed decision making, and by science, we acknowledge multiple ways of knowing, and the rigor comes from a definition of climate-smart that is inclusive of Indigenous innovation—otherwise, how can this work for �鶹��ý as a more just and equitable metric for what is “climate-smart?”

We are charged with laying the foundation for an emergent market for “climate-smart” products, think, “grown in �鶹��ý, for �鶹��ý.” Ultimately this will provide our producers and practitioners a strong, local market for items grown in a sustainable way; but also provide more resilience in our food system and ability to provide food security for local families in a way that sustains people and the environment.

How important is it to be an ambassador for the project and the university?

Representing the university in a partnership that focuses on climate change, agriculture, food systems, and social justice allows us to build the trust essential for the future mitigation and adaptation to climate change in �鶹��ý. UH has always been a leader in serving the communities of �鶹��ý with excellence and relevance, and this project is an exciting example of the service ethic. With such a broad reaching project with network partners we have the ability to meet the needs of agricultural producers first and foremost, but also local communities, state policy makers, and food systems initiatives while answering fundamental questions about how to approach incentivizing climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.

For the second consecutive year, the University of �鶹��ý has set a record in extramural funding at $515.9 million for fiscal year 2023 (FY2023), $10.9 million more over the previous record of $505 million set in FY2022.

, the flagship campus of UH’s 10 campus system, led the extramural award amounts this year with $342.7 million. The UH System brought in $117.7 million, totaled $33.7 million, received $17.8 million and totaled $4 million.

“We are extremely proud of our back-to-back record hauls in extramural funding, despite having to deal with a myriad of challenges due to the recent pandemic and its lingering after-effects on the world economy and our funders,” said UH Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos. “The accolades must be given to our faculty, staff and graduate students for their hard work and dedication to the UH research enterprise and to the state of �鶹��ý.”

Extramural funding is external investments from governmental agencies such as the federal government, industry and non-profit organizations that support research and training activities conducted by university faculty and staff. Extramural projects support research and innovation that help to increase knowledge and provide solutions to improve quality of life.

“Every dollar invested by one of our extramural sponsors is a vote of confidence that UH faculty, staff and students are creating a better future for �鶹��ý and the world,” said UH President David Lassner. “This includes everything from climate change, resilience, water quality and energy solutions to addressing health disparities, educational inequities, feeding our population, and training �鶹��ý‘s people for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”

Several examples of UH programs that attracted the attention of funders:

• The Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges was awarded $16.3 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the “Resilient �鶹��ý: Good Jobs Challenge” initiative that provides employer-driven training in living-wage jobs to individuals whose employment was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more on UH News.
• The received $5.5 million from NASA to continue a wide area survey of Near Earth Objects at its Pan-STARRS observatory on Haleakalā, Maui. Read more on UH News.
• The was awarded $4.5 million, as part of a five-year $23 million grant from the National Institutes for Health (NIH) for Ola HAWAII, a multidisciplinary research center that addresses health disparities in underserved, multiethnic populations in �鶹��ý. Read more on UH News.



• UH’s received $4 million, as part of a five-year $20 million grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF), to integrate climate and data science research under its “Change HI” initiative. Read more on UH News.
• The received $3.6 million from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to continue its research and maintenance support of the U.S. Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site in Kāneʻohe Bay. Read more on UH News.



• ONR awarded UH a $2.4 million grant to partner with the University of Alaska and the University of Rhode Island to develop and advance energy, marine and other blue economy technologies and opportunities through the . Read more on UH News.
• NIH awarded $2.4 million to the to continue its important Multiethnic Cohort Study. Read more on UH News.



• was awarded $2 million of a $3.5 million grant by NSF’s Tribal Colleges and Universities Program to establish its Kiaʻi Loko Center for Limu Research. The center focuses on applying traditional Native Hawaiian knowledge alongside Western scientific methods to study limu (algae) and traditional Hawaiian fishponds. Read more on UH News.
• UH ����ԴDz�’s (SOEST) was awarded $3 million by ONR to map flood risks related to sea-level rise in �鶹��ý.
• The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded SOEST and the another $1.5 million increment of a five-year, $25 million project to develop an engineered coral reef system to protect coastlines from flooding, erosion and storm damage. Read more on UH News.
• The received $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to restore ancestral and cultural practices to improve health equity among Native Hawaiians and NHPI communities.
• UH Hilo received $1.1 million from the U.S. Department of Education for its E Hoi I Ke Kumu program to address the Hawaiian language immersion teacher shortage in the state.
• UH was awarded a $1 million NSF Engines Development Award to establish its Climate-Resilient Food Innovation Network that will serve as a hub for �鶹��ý and U.S-affiliated Pacific Islands to develop collaborative, food innovation solutions driven by Indigenous knowledge systems and modern technology. UH could be eligible for another award of up to $160 million. Read more on UH News.
• UH West Oʻahu received a $944,307 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop its He Paepae Aloha curriculum to increase Native Hawaiian participation and completion of post-secondary education through the incorporation of Native Hawaiian traditions and culture.

At the in May, University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa graduate student Isabella Kotsol earned a scholarship and poster presentation award. Kotsol presented research to develop specialized materials for use in air filters for hydrogen fuel cells.

Hydrogen fuel cells generate power from a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, and produce only electricity, heat and water, making this a critical technology in the transition to clean energy. Typically, the oxygen used is from atmospheric air; however, air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide can enter the fuel cell and damage crucial components, so mitigating sulfur dioxide contamination through air filtration is necessary.

Working with Godwin Severa, assistant researcher at the in the UH Mānoa , Kotsol focuses on a filtration material made of activated carbon that has been coated in chemicals called ionic liquids, which have a high capacity for absorbing sulfur dioxide from the air.

“The findings of my research showed that the ionic liquid-coated activated carbon materials performed better than previously reported materials for sulfur dioxide filtration,” said Kotsol, who is pursuing a master’s degree in and expects to graduate in December 2023.

Kotsol presented research among 12 graduate student presenters from universities across the country. The presentations were judged by industry professionals in the filtrations and separations field.

“As a soon-to-be graduating master’s degree student, the opportunity to attend this conference and network with the people who work in the field of my research was particularly valuable,” said Kotsol, who is part of the ’s accelerated . “I am starting to think about what I will do after graduation, and being able to talk to and exchange information with a variety of professionals has definitely broadened my ideas and access to opportunities in the research field, something I would not have had without the conference experience.”

For the .

The University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa, through its (HNEI), is introducing a new technology development and demonstration program aimed at reducing the cost of operating electric vehicles (EVs) and on-campus electricity expenses. The program offers bidirectional EV charging, allowing electricity to flow both ways between the EVs and the power grid via on-campus charging stations.

By signing up for this program and completing the necessary training, qualified UH Mānoa personnel will have access to two EVs conveniently located on campus.

The program supports UH Mānoa’s efforts to achieve net-zero energy by 2035 and to replace its gas-powered vehicles with EVs. The optimization algorithm developed in-house by HNEI determines the most economical times to charge and discharge the EVs, taking into account fluctuating electricity costs, on-campus PV production, and campus power demand throughout the day. By charging the EVs when electricity is cheapest and using the EV battery power during peak times, the system saves money on energy costs.

“The more people sign up, and the more people use it, the richer the data set will be for us to really evaluate, and then further tune our algorithms to extract more value out of the system… [and] by using bidirectional charging, we have the opportunity to actually drive down the cost of operating vehicles for purposes of this campus,” said Leon Roose, HNEI specialist.

Overall, this program is helping UH Mānoa become more sustainable and reduce its carbon footprint. Potential EV drivers are required to review a user manual (or participate in optional in-person training) and sign a consent form to participate in the program.

Any potential EV drivers can contact Ai Oyama at aioyama@hawaii.edu.

The $1.7-trillion federal government omnibus funding bill for fiscal year 2023 includes millions of dollars to help the University of �鶹��ý serve the people of our islands thanks to the committed and effective support of �鶹��ý’s congressional delegation—U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and U.S. Representatives Ed Case and Kai Kahele.

Some of the funds appropriated specifically for UH programs include:

• $6.5 million for the UH Cancer Center for the construction of the new Early Phase Clinical Trial Research Center that will provide individuals with cancer access to Phase I clinical trials, which is currently only available in the continental U.S. Learn more
• $2.25 million to UH ����ԴDz�, to establish the Shoreline Equity and Adaptation Hub to support the development of predictive sea-level rise models, economic and policy models for decision making, outreach and community engagement, and resilient landscape and community designs.
• $1 million to support planning and infrastructure for the UH Office of Indigenous Innovation to establish an Indigenous Data Science Hub with a living laboratory that could incubate up to 10 community-based innovation pilots in support of global resilience.
• $500,000 to the UH Sea Grant College Program to facilitate public planning and engagement to identify green and nature-based infrastructure approaches for resilience in the Waikīkī watershed.

One of the provisions that will directly benefit �鶹��ý college students is the increase of $24.6 billion for federal student aid programs, which includes increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by $500 to $7,395 for the 2023–24 academic year.

Through the regular (non-earmark) process, the appropriations bill also funds a number of high-priority programs through which UH advances statewide and national interests, including:

• $30 million for U.S. Navy Alternative Energy Research, an increase of $2.5 million, which supports renewable energy activities at UH ����ԴDz� through the �鶹��ý Natural Energy Institute as well as sea-level rise research through the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.
• $5 million for a new Center for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islander (NHPIUSAPI) Health to focus on research, data collection and practice improvement to better serve NHPIUSAPI veterans, in partnership with UH.
• $9 million for the Resilient Innovative Sustainable Economies via University Partnerships program (RISE-UP Initiative), which supports UH, the University of Alaska, and the University of Rhode Island.
• $25 million for the Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Program, an increase of $3 million, that will support tutoring, mentorships, internships, faculty development and other activities to support Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students at the collegiate level.
• $19 million for the Strengthening Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Program, an increase of $8 million.
• $302 million, an increase for the High Performance Computing Modernization Program in the Department of Defense, which supports the UH-managed Maui High Performance Computing Center.
• $101 million for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, which includes the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at UH ����ԴDz�.
• $80 million for the Sea Grant Program, which supports coastal and Great Lakes communities through research, extension and education, including the UH Sea Grant College Program.
• $83 million for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers, which includes the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center based out of UH ����ԴDz�. These Centers provide regionally relevant scientific information, tools and techniques to resource managers and communities in �鶹��ý in response to our changing climate.
• $38 million for the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program, which provides continuing support to the UH Hilo Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes.
• $2 million in new funding for Medical-Legal Partnerships, which provide value to underserved communities by combining health and legal services at a single site of care.
• $4 million to support unmanned vehicle research in partnership with the U.S. Navy.
• $2 million increase for the National Mesonet Program, with language encouraging expansion in non-contiguous areas.
• $9.5 billion for the National Science Foundation, an increase of $700 million. NSF support of UH research helped the university set a record in extramural funding last fiscal year.
• $470 million for Advanced Research Projects—Energy and High Energy Physics, which supports groundbreaking research at UH aimed at rapidly developing energy technologies to address the nation’s critical economic, environmental and energy security challenges.

The bill also instructs the U.S. Department of State to consider increasing the number of scholarships available for Pacific Islanders to study in the United States, many of whom study at UH.

“This appropriations bill will give our state funding to grow our local economy, improve roads and public transit, protect our environment, and strengthen housing, education, and health care programs,” said Schatz in a news release after the Senate passed the bipartisan bill.

“From protecting our environment, to strengthening our state’s emergency management capabilities, to supporting community health organizations and more, these projects will benefit people and communities across our state,” said Hirono in a news release.

“This funding measure continues to showcase a very productive partnership between our �鶹��ý congressional delegation and UH, our flagship institution of higher education and engine of our economy, with its excellent record of attracting hundreds of millions in research funding,” said Case in a news release.

“We are thrilled with the amazing support we get from our congressional delegation individually and collectively in the federal appropriations process,” said UH President David Lassner. “It is truly an honor and a pleasure to work together to advance critical priorities for �鶹��ý and our nation.”

Identifying the actions that must be taken to mitigate the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming is part of the , which highlights the state’s climate change initiatives and its many partners. The conference will be during �鶹��ý Climate Week, January 9–12, 2023.

Climate Week is hosted by the �鶹��ý State Climate Commission, (�鶹��ý Sea Grant), (PI-CASC), Pacific RISA, the East-West Center and the .

Darren Lerner, director of �鶹��ý Sea Grant, consortium director for PI-CASC and one of the conference organizers, said “The top scientists who have been working on climate change issues for decades will be joining forces with natural and cultural resource managers and policymakers during the inaugural �鶹��ý Climate Week to address the most prominent challenges we are facing throughout our state and region, today and into the future. At PI-CASC we have been working with communities to identify the best pathways and tools to adapt to a changing climate in support of fish, wildlife, water, land, and people.”

, January 10–11, focuses on climate adaptation science for managing changing conditions associated with drought and wildfire, integrated watersheds, and sea-level rise, as well as exploring researcher-manager-practitioner engagement and linking to human elements of climate adaptation.

Leah Laramee, �鶹��ý Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation Coordinator with the State of �鶹��ý Department of Land and Natural Resources Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, noted “Climate Week is a reflection of the cross-cutting collaboration it will take to address climate change. We are hoping that this is just the start, and climate collaboration and Climate Week will grow as will our capacity to work together to address climate change.”

All events are designed for in-person participation, and some will have the option of online viewing.

�鶹��ý Climate Week agenda

�鶹��ý Climate Action Day—Monday, January 9, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Participants can connect with leaders involved in climate change action in the state. Looking through the lens of natural solutions, we will explore the challenges and solutions of climate change in �鶹��ý.

Youth Climate Summit—Monday, January 9, 5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

The first �鶹��ý Youth Climate Action Summit is open to youth from across �鶹��ý who are passionate about organizing around and responding to the impacts of climate change on our communities and ecosystems. The summit will focus on identifying key levers for accelerating adaptation actions around topics such as climate justice, traditional and Indigenous knowledge and equitable policy. Participants will provide lightning talks around current initiatives and implementation gaps and form networks that can amplify needed actions.

�鶹��ý Climate Adaptation Science Summit, Day 1—Tuesday, January 10, 12:30 p.m.–5 p.m.

Participants can join researchers, resource managers, officials, practitioners and other science users working on climate change impacts and adaptation for ecosystems and communities in �鶹��ý and around the Pacific. Learn more about, and participate in discussions on climate adaptation science for managing changing conditions in three topical themes: drought and wildfire in the Pacific Islands, integrated watershed science, sea-level rise adaptation science.

Pacific Island Women Leaders at COP27: Outcomes and Ways Forward—Wednesday, January 11, 9:30 a.m.–11 a.m.

In November, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), which took place in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh, concluded with a historic decision to establish and operationalize a loss and damage fund, which Pacific Islands have been critical in advocating for. This discussion will feature an analysis of outcomes with four women from �鶹��ý who attended the conference.

Climate Adaptation Planning and Implementation Peer Exchange—Wednesday, January 11, 9 a.m.–2:30 p.m. (Invite only, hosted by Pacific RISA)

�鶹��ý Climate Adaptation Science Summit, Day 2—Wednesday, January 11, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.

20th Anniversary �鶹��ý Energy Policy Forum—Thursday, January 12, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

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A University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa student’s work to improve the efficiency of fuel-cell technology was awarded first place in the student poster presentation session at the in October. The honor came with a scholarship from the American Filtration Society.

student Jacob Vasquez presented research he has been conducting for his senior thesis with Godwin Severa, assistant researcher at the in the . They developed and tested specialized materials that capture atmospheric acidic gases that can pass through and impact the efficiency of fuel cells as they generate clean energy. To improve air purification technology, Vasquez analyzed the capacity for various materials to absorb gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

“The entire experience developed my presentation and networking skills and was an absolutely beneficial experience for me made possible by my department, the �鶹��ý Natural Energy Institute, and the UH Mānoa (UROP),” said Vasquez. “It was rewarding to share our efforts to improve this promising clean energy technology.”

The conference was an international opportunity for professionals and students to present their state-of-the-art research in filtration. It included presentations from 30 students representing seven different countries over the course of two days. Students were evaluated by a panel that included experts in the filtration industry.

“We have exceptional students at UH doing cutting edge materials research that is critical for sustaining our future, including the full realization of fuel-cell based technologies,” said Severa. “It’s fulfilling to see our students participating in these efforts being rewarded. I encourage students to seek research experiences. It’s never too early to start. We are here to assist students in achieving and exceeding their expectations.”

Vasquez’s travel and conference attendance was supported by UH Mānoa UROP Presentation funding.

–By Marcie Grabowski