A University of Â鶹´«Ã½-led research network that helps scientists monitor space weather and cosmic rays has received a nearly $1 million award from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

The three-year, $922,511 continuing award will support the operation and maintenance of the Simpson Neutron Monitor Network, a global system of ground-based detectors that measure cosmic rays—high-energy particles that travel through space and constantly strike Earth’s atmosphere.

Led by UH Mānoa Chair and Professor Veronica Bindi and co-principal investigator Nikolay Nikonov, the project provides critical data used by researchers, space weather forecasters and industries that rely on sensitive technology.

Sun influence, space weather

Neutron monitors are ground-based particle detectors that measure secondary particles produced when cosmic rays and solar energetic particles interact with Earth’s atmosphere. These measurements are essential for understanding how solar activity influences the heliosphere and the near-Earth radiation environment.

At ground level, cosmic rays are not hazardous because Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field provide substantial shielding. However, radiation exposure is significantly higher at aviation altitudes and in space, where the protective atmosphere is reduced. For this reason, neutron monitor data is used by space science researchers, space weather forecasters, aviation and satellite communities, and industries concerned with radiation effects on microelectronics.

“This award strengthens the University of Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s role in national space weather research and infrastructure,” Bindi said. “Neutron monitors provide a unique ground-based view of energetic particles from the Sun and from the galaxy. These data are critical for both fundamental heliophysics and practical space weather applications.”

The network’s detectors collect continuous measurements of cosmic ray intensity from locations around the world. Researchers use the data to study solar storms, energetic particles released by the Sun and other phenomena occurring throughout the solar system. The project also supports specialized tools, including a Ground Level Enhancement Alert System that provides real-time notifications when unusually large solar particle events are detected.

The award supports research infrastructure that enables continuous, long-term measurements needed to understand solar modulation, detect major solar particle events and provide data to the international space weather community.

The award complements UH’s broader space weather activities, including neutron monitor infrastructure in Â鶹´«Ã½ that helps fill an important observational gap in the Pacific region, and the development of space radiation monitoring and forecasting capabilities at UH Mānoa. Together, these efforts support a growing national need to better identify, characterize and mitigate space weather events that can affect infrastructure, society, aviation, satellites, space missions and government functions.

“This is an important step toward building a stronger space weather capability at UH,” Bindi said. “Our goal is to connect high-quality observations, advanced analysis and forecasting tools to support science, education and operational awareness.”

The network honors John A. “Jack” Simpson, a pioneer of cosmic ray research whose neutron monitor design became a foundation for long-term space weather observations worldwide.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in UH Mānoa’s .

Two University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa research projects have been selected for the inaugural , placing UH’s flagship research campus among a select group of universities and research institutions nationwide using artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.

In the , the DOE said the projects were selected to develop and demonstrate AI-enabled tools and workflows designed to accelerate breakthroughs in energy, science and national security. Each project is eligible for Phase I awards of $500,000–$750,000 over nine months, providing investigators with the opportunity to develop innovative AI-driven research while positioning them to compete for future Phase II awards of up to $15 million.

“The selection of not one, but two UH Mānoa projects for this highly competitive DOE mission reflects the strength of the UH research community and the creativity of our faculty in pursuing solutions to some of the most complex challenges facing society,” said UH Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Chad B. Walton. “At UH, we are committed to fostering an environment where bold ideas, interdisciplinary collaboration and emerging technologies can come together to create meaningful impact not only in Â鶹´«Ã½, but across the nation, and around the world.”

The two UH Mānoa projects selected are led by researchers in the and the .

AI security for critical infrastructure

One project, led by Assistant Professor Liuwan Zhu from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, focuses on improving the security and reliability of AI systems used in critical infrastructure. The project, called STRATOS (Security and Trust Runtime Architecture for Time-critical Operational Science), will develop an AI security platform designed to detect and respond to cyber threats targeting AI systems used in real-time operations, such as electrical grid management and forecasting.

The research team will test the technology using a dual-site platform that includes the UH Mānoa campus microgrid and real-time computing systems at Argonne National Laboratory. The project includes collaborators from Old Dominion University and Argonne National Laboratory.

AI advances the search for extremely rare decay processes

The second project, led by Professor Zepeng Li from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, will develop an AI foundation model to support searches for neutrinoless double beta decay, one of the most important unanswered questions in nuclear and particle physics. Neutrinoless double beta decay is an extremely rare nuclear process that, if observed, could help scientists better understand the nature of neutrinos, the mysterious “ghost particles” that are abundant in the universe and are constantly passing through us without interacting. In particular, this rare decay process could tell us whether the neutrino is its own anti-particle.

Researchers around the world are searching for this phenomenon using different types of detectors, but each experiment typically relies on its own specialized software and analysis methods. Li’s project aims to create a shared AI framework that can learn from data across multiple detector technologies, helping researchers identify patterns, analyze results and improve collaboration among experiments studying this rare event. The project will develop a unified AI framework that streamlines data analysis across the diverse detector technologies used in neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments, accelerating the search for this rare process.

The Genesis Mission brings together DOE laboratories and universities to combine advanced AI, high-performance computing and scientific expertise. UH Mānoa was among 168 universities selected for the first round of Genesis Mission projects, which included a total of 278 research efforts involving more than 340 institutions across the country. Through these projects, UH researchers will contribute to emerging applications of AI in fundamental physics, energy systems and national security, while strengthening Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s role in cutting-edge scientific research.

A University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa physicist is part of an international team behind a new approach to studying some of the universe’s most mysterious particles&@8212;using mountains instead of ice.

A paper published July 15 in outlines the scientific potential of the (TAMBO), a proposed neutrino observatory that would use a deep valley in the Peruvian Andes to detect some of the highest-energy neutrinos ever observed.

Neutrinos are tiny, nearly massless particles created during some of the universe’s most powerful events, such as exploding stars and supermassive black holes. Because they rarely interact with matter, they can travel across the universe almost unchanged, carrying clues about where they came from. That same property, however, also makes them extremely difficult to detect.

Neutrinos, rocks, cascades of particles

Unlike the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica, which detects neutrinos using sensors embedded deep in glacial ice, TAMBO would use the natural landscape of a mountain valley. When a rare, high-energy tau neutrino passes through Earth’s crust and interacts with rock, it can produce a particle that escapes into the valley and creates a cascade of particles in the air. Thousands of detectors placed on the opposite side of the valley would capture that signal.

By focusing on high-energy tau neutrinos (one of three types of neutrinos), researchers expect TAMBO to identify cosmic neutrinos with far less interference from particles produced in Earth’s atmosphere. That could help scientists pinpoint the powerful cosmic objects that generate them and provide new opportunities to test fundamental laws of physics.

UH Mānoa Assistant Professor Peter Lewis is a member of the international TAMBO collaboration, which includes researchers from 26 institutions across nine countries. TAMBO was originally proposed by UH alumnus Andres Romero-Wolf, who until recently served as the project’s manager.

“Neutrinos are exceedingly weird and challenging to detect, but we need to study them to understand the universe,” Lewis said. “TAMBO will fill a critical gap in our understanding of neutrinos. It will also continue a very long and rich tradition of neutrino detection leadership at UH Mānoa. TAMBO will give our students a unique opportunity to collaborate with an international collaboration on fast-paced, innovative work in advanced detector design and neutrino physics.”

Researchers are evaluating the Colca Valley in Peru as a potential site for the observatory. Construction of TAMBITO, a prototype for the project, is already underway, with the full TAMBO observatory expected to be completed in 2028. The collaboration is also working with local communities and social scientists to help ensure the project is developed responsibly while supporting education and research opportunities in the region.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in UH Mānoa’s .

Fourteen University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa academic subjects were ranked among the world’s best in the 2026 , released on March 25.

Four subjects placed in the top 22 in the nation and top 100 in the world. Leading the way was geology (No. 19 in the U.S. and No. 51–100 in the world), geophysics (No. 19 in the U.S. and No. 51–100 in the world), Earth and marine sciences (No. 21 in the U.S. and No. 51–100 in the world) and linguistics (No. 22 in the U.S. and No. 61 in the world).

Ten additional subjects placed in the world’s top 2% (within top 500 in the world out of ):

• English language and literature: No. 28 U.S., No. 101–150 world
• Agriculture and forestry: No. 30 U.S., No. 151–200 world
• Anthropology: No. 31 U.S., No. 101–200 world
• Modern languages: No. 41 U.S., No. 251–300 world
• Environmental sciences: No. 66 U.S., No. 351–400 world
• Communication and media studies: No. 68 U.S., No. 251–275 world
• Physics and astronomy: No. 70 U.S., No. 401–450 world
• Education: No. 78 U.S., No. 351–400 world
• Medicine: No. 99 U.S., No. 451–500 world
• Biological sciences: No. 100 U.S., No. 451–500 world

“These rankings highlight the exceptional work and commitment of our faculty, students and staff,” UH Mānoa Interim Provost Vassilis L. Syrmos said. “They showcase the university’s global standing and reinforce that UH Mānoa offers outstanding educational opportunities and experiences for both our local community and those joining us from around the world.”

UH Mānoa was ranked in three broad subject areas and 14 narrow subject areas. The QS World University Rankings by Subject are calculated using five criteria: academic reputation (measures the reputation of institutions and their programs by asking academic experts to nominate universities based on their subject area of expertise), employer reputation (measures the reputation of institutions and their programs among employers), research citations per paper (measures the impact and quality of the scientific work done by institutions, on average per publication), H-index (measures both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar) and international research network (measure of an institution’s success in creating and sustaining research partnerships with institutions in other locations).

The 2026 edition of the rankings by global higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds analyzed the performance of more than 18,300 university programs, taken by students at more than 1,700 universities in 100 locations around the world.

Other rankings

UH Mānoa also received these notable rankings:

• 2025 U.S. News and World Report best online programs, January 27, 2026
• 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject, January 21, 2026
• 2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, January 4, 2026

A University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa researcher has received a top international honor for his work studying some of the smallest building blocks of the universe.

Chris Ketter, a postdoctoral researcher in the UH Mānoa , was awarded the Belle II PhD Technical Thesis Award. The honor was announced in February at KEK (High Energy Accelerator Research Organization), a leading high-energy physics research center in Tsukuba, Japan.

The award recognizes Ketter’s doctoral research on the Belle II K-Long and Muon detector (a system used to identify and track subatomic particles). He was selected from more than 250 PhD students involved in the global Belle II collaboration. Ketter began his research under the late Professor Gary Varner and now works with Assistant Professor Keisuke Yoshihara, focusing on particle detectors that help scientists study fundamental particles. He is expected to receive the award this summer in Vienna.

“This award came as a shock to me,” Ketter said. “I was just working hard to bring our detector up to the level or readiness required by the experiment. Now reflecting on this award, I can say it was made possible by the support and mentorship of the UH physics professors, postdoctoral researchers and engineers that I had the pleasure to work with. I am humbled by the kindness that my Â鶹´«Ã½ ʻohana have shown me over the years and, to that end, I am proud to receive merit highlighting the world-class research carried out at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½.”

The Belle II experiment brings together more than 700 researchers from around the world. Based in Japan, the project studies collisions between particles to explore fundamental questions about how the universe formed. One of its main goals is to understand why the universe today is made mostly of matter instead of equal parts matter and antimatter (particles with opposite properties). Scientists believe there may be unknown particles or forces—often called “new physics”—that could help explain this imbalance.

Â鶹´«Ã½Mānoa researchers play a key role in the experiment, contributing to detector systems and data collection tools that allow scientists to measure particle behavior with high precision. Ketter’s award highlights both his individual contributions and UH’s continued involvement in cutting-edge physics research on the global stage.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in UH Mānoa’s .

A new study out of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²Ñā²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s could help solve the mystery surrounding why a key type of star used to measure cosmic distances appears to be missing.

Assistant Professor Jeremy Sakstein led the research, , by the American Physical Society. It shows that dark matter may prevent certain stars, called Cepheid variables, from forming near the Milky Way’s crowded core. Cepheid stars are often described as cosmic metronomes. They brighten and dim in a steady rhythm, making them essential tools for astronomers to measure distances across the universe. In most parts of the galaxy, these stars are common and well understood. However, none have been clearly observed near the galactic center.

The new study offers a possible explanation. According to the researchers, dark matter—an invisible substance thought to make up most of the universe’s mass—may collect inside stars that form in regions where dark matter is especially dense, such as the galaxy’s inner core. There, dark matter could release extra energy inside stars, subtly changing their evolution.

“This work highlights how research at UH Mānoa is helping to address some of the biggest unanswered questions in science,” Sakstein said. “By combining theory and computation, we’re helping to open up entirely new ways to test ideas about the universe. The next generation of telescopes will tell us whether we’re on the right track.”

For Cepheid stars, that extra energy may be enough to stop them from ever entering the phase where they pulse and become visible. The effect appears strongest for smaller Cepheids with shorter rhythms, which would be the first to disappear. Importantly, the study finds that Cepheids are more sensitive to dark matter than many other types of stars. That makes their absence a potential new clue in the decades-long effort to understand what dark matter is and how it behaves.

Powerful new telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope and the next generation of extremely large ground-based observatories, are expected to peer deeper into the galactic center than ever before. If these instruments still fail to find Cepheid stars where they should exist, it could be a strong sign that dark matter is influencing stellar life in ways scientists are only beginning to uncover.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in UH ²Ñā²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s .

Five subject areas were placed in the world’s top 1%, and an additional four earned top 2% honors in the 2026 , released on January 21.

Education led the way, ranked in the No. 101–125 tier, followed by physical sciences at No. 126–150, arts and humanities at No. 151–175, and law and life sciences each at No. 201–250. To qualify in the world’s top 1%, rankings must be within the top 250 in the world () UH Mānoa was ranked in all 11 of the 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject lists.

“We are proud that UH Mānoa continues to be recognized globally, reflecting our commitment to academic excellence, research and the student experience,” UH Mānoa Interim Provost Vassilis L. Syrmos said. “These rankings underscore the hard work and dedication of our faculty, students and staff, who make UH Mānoa a truly exceptional place.”

All UH Mānoa rankings:

• Education studies: No. 101–125
• Physical sciences: No. 126–150
• Arts and humanities: No. 151–175
• Law: No. 201–250
• Life sciences: No. 201–250
• Social sciences: No. 251–300
• Medical and health: No. 301–400
• Psychology: No. 301–400
• Business and economics: No. 401–500
• Computer science: No. 501–600
• Engineering: No. 501–600

Times Higher Education considers the following factors for its rankings: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry income and international outlook. Regarded as one of the leading national and international university rankings focused on research and academic excellence, Times Higher Education considered between 425–1,555 of the top institutions for each of its subject rankings, out of more than 25,000 institutions worldwide, to be eligible for its World University Rankings by Subject.

Other rankings

UH Mānoa also received these notable rankings:

• 2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, January 4, 2026
• 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, October 9, 2025
• Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings, October 2, 2025
• U.S. News and World Report 2026 Best Colleges rankings, September 23, 2025

For more information, .

This week’s UH News Image of the Week is from UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹’s Niels Bidault, an assistant professor of .

Bidault shared: “Assistant Professors Siqi Li (left) and Niels Bidault (right) are installing a cathode in the electron gun of the UH linear accelerator. From Noelo magazine.”

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A NASA scientific balloon carrying a next-generation space science instrument has successfully launched over Antarctica, continuing a legacy of discovery that began at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa.

The mission, known as the Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations, or PUEO, lifted off December 20, from NASA’s launch facility near McMurdo Station. The balloon reached an altitude of about 120,000 feet and is now drifting high above the Antarctic ice while collecting data.

PUEO is designed to study tiny particles called neutrinos that travel through space at extremely high energies. When these particles strike the thick Antarctic ice, they create brief radio signals. From its vantage point far above the surface, the balloon-mounted instrument listens for those signals, using the ice below as a natural detector.

By tracking these signals, scientists hope to learn more about powerful events in the universe, such as black hole formation and collisions between dense stars. The mission also includes two additional balloons that send test signals to help researchers confirm the instrument is working properly. PUEO is expected to remain airborne for several weeks, circling the continent as it gathers information.

“This mission shows how ideas that start in Â鶹´«Ã½ can grow through years of collaboration and dedication into discoveries that help answer some of the biggest questions about our universe,” Professor Peter Gorham said. “It reflects the creativity and persistence of our students, researchers and engineers, and it points to a future where UH research continues to play a meaningful role in advancing science worldwide.”

Building on UH’s Antarctic legacy

PUEO builds on earlier work led by UH researchers through the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA). That earlier project completed four balloon flights between 2006 and 2016 and helped open a new way of studying high-energy particles using radio signals detected over Antarctica. ANITA also recorded unusual particle events that scientists are still working to understand. With improved sensitivity and updated technology, PUEO aims to expand on those discoveries and clarify unanswered questions from the earlier missions.

This is the second high-altitude scientific balloon launched from Antarctica this season with major UH involvement. On December 15, a separate scientific balloon carried the General AntiParticle Spectrometer experiment into the sky to search for rare cosmic antimatter linked to dark matter. Together, the missions highlight UH’s growing role in NASA-led balloon research, using Antarctica’s unique environment to study some of the most basic questions about the universe.

PUEO is led by Professor Abigail Vieregg of the University of Chicago. The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in .

A groundbreaking scientific experiment aimed at detecting dark matter in space launched from Antarctica on December 15, with significant contributions from University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹.

The General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is suspended from a football-field-sized balloon approximately 24 miles above Antarctica to search for rare cosmic antimatter that could help unlock the mysteries of dark matter, one of physics’ most perplexing phenomena.

Dark matter makes up about 85% of all the mass in our universe, yet we can’t see it or directly detect it—we only know it exists because of how it affects things around it through gravity. Understanding dark matter would help us grasp what most of the universe is actually made of and potentially reveal fundamental new physics that could revolutionize our understanding of how everything works.

International partners work on mystery

UH Mānoa received $1.4 million, part of a larger NASA grant, in support of the project, and has been playing a leading role in developing the experiment. Columbia is the lead institution on the GAPS project. Collaborators include the UH Mānoa, UCLA, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, Northeastern University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and international collaborators from Japan, Italy and China.

“This experiment puts Â鶹´«Ã½ at the forefront of one of the biggest mysteries in modern physics,” said Philip von Doetinchem, project lead and professor. “Our students and researchers at UH Mānoa are helping lead a quest to understand what makes up a large fraction of our universe, showing that groundbreaking science is happening right here in our islands.”

The UH GAPS flight operations team is composed of Research Corporation of UH researcher Achim Stoessl, graduate student Grace Tytus and Doetinchem. In addition, Cory Gerrity was instrumental for on-campus detector development tasks during the pandemic, which was also supported by undergraduate student Hershel Weiner.

The experiment seeks to detect antiprotons and antideuterons (antimatter particles that are used in research to study dark matter and other phenomena), which scientists believe could provide crucial evidence about the nature of dark matter. While researchers have observed dark matter’s gravitational effects, its fundamental properties remain unknown.

GAPS utilizes NASA balloon facilities similar to previous Antarctic experiments, including one that recently challenged standard physics models. The project builds on years of preparation, including extensive detector calibration work at UH Mānoa and integration testing at multiple NASA facilities.

Primary funding is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), with substantial funding from the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

• Related UH News story: UH professor’s Antarctica discovery may herald new model of physics, December 10, 2018

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in .

University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa researchers in the have wrapped up a six-week campaign at CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire or European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland, to study how rare antimatter particles (particles with opposite charge to ordinary matter) are created. Understanding these particles helps us learn how the universe was formed and why it behaves the way it does today.

The team used the NA61/SHINE experiment, a fixed-target experiment at one of CERN’s particle accelerators, to produce antinuclei under conditions similar to those found in space. The new data recorded on the ground will help scientists better understand unusual signals recorded by instruments orbiting Earth.

The work is part of a project funded in 2024 by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The group expects the data analysis to take several years.

“This work demonstrates that our team in Â鶹´«Ã½ is at the forefront of understanding cosmic antimatter by using one of the world’s most advanced science facilities, also providing an amazing opportunity for the next generation of researchers to engage in international research,” Professor Philip von Doetinchem said. “Without the hard work of postdoc Anirvan Shukla and graduate students Bobby Lyon and Michael Bell, we could not have executed the campaign. Great thanks also go to our international collaborators at CERN—without them the data taking would not have been possible. What we learn from these measurements will help us better understand our Galaxy and what it is composed of.”

This effort builds on more than a decade of UH Mānoa research focused on hunting for antimatter in space. In 2024, the project received a $600,000 NSF grant to analyze data from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the International Space Station. That instrument has detected possible signs of rare antinuclei that may come from dark matter or other unknown processes in the galaxy.

By creating these particles on the ground and comparing them with signals from space, UH scientists aim to narrow down where the antimatter is coming from and what it can reveal about the structure of the universe.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in the UH Mānoa .

A team of scientists, including University of Â鶹´«Ã½ researchers, has found further observational support for a model originally developed at UH Mānoa that could help solve two of the biggest mysteries in physics: the accelerating growth of the universe and the mass of ghost-like particles called neutrinos.

In a study , the researchers used data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to test whether dark energy emanating from black holes could be responsible for the mysterious force causing the universe to expand faster throughout time. DESI, located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory on land stewarded by the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona, uses 5,000 robotic eyes to map millions of galaxies, helping scientists measure how quickly the universe has grown over billions of years.

This idea, called the cosmologically coupled black hole (CCBH) hypothesis, is based on black holes that convert dead star matter into dark energy. Such dark energy black holes have been studied for over half a century, but their relation to the universe’s growth was not initially appreciated. Duncan Farrah, UH Mānoa associate professor in the and graduate faculty at the ; Kevin Croker, affiliate graduate faculty in the UH Mānoa Department of Physics and Astronomy; and Joel Weiner, professor emeritus in the UH Mānoa , were the first to explore how such a population of black holes could give rise to the accelerated growth that scientists observe today.

“The upshot of this is that if you convert just a little bit of ordinary matter into dark energy over the history of the universe, then you can go a significant way to solving two big mysteries. You explain the origin of dark energy, and you solve a significant tension in the world of particle physics,” Farrah said. “This doesn’t prove anything, but it does motivate further examination of the idea, and testing it against other possible explanations.”

One of the most puzzling findings from DESI is that the standard explanation for accelerated growth of the universe seemed to leave no room for a type of particle called a neutrino to have mass. DESI used the expansion of the universe itself as a giant set of scales, but found that, in the standard model of cosmology, measured mass of neutrinos had begun to contradict measurements from other experiments.

The CCBH model offers a solution. If black holes are turning star matter into dark energy, then the total amount of non-neutrino matter in the universe would decrease over time. This correction allows the neutrino mass measured in DESI data to match what Earth-based experiments have found, something only one other model has done successfully. And it can do so while also explaining the observed accelerated growth of the universe as a whole.

The research explains the amount of dark energy in the universe, suggesting that it wasn’t set at the beginning of time but built up slowly as stars formed and died. The work shows how creative thinking, combined with powerful telescopes and global cooperation, can bring us all closer to understanding how the universe really works.

More about DESI

DESI is an international experiment that brings together more than 900 researchers from more than 70 institutions. The project is led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the instrument was constructed and is operated with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. DESI is mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory—a program of NSF NOIRLab—in Arizona.

In addition to its primary support from the DOE Office of Science, DESI is also supported by the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science user facility. Additional support for DESI is provided by the NSF; the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; the French Alternative Energies 2 and Atomic Energy Commission; the National Council of Humanities, Sciences, and Technologies of Mexico; the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain; and by the DESI member institutions.

What once sat dormant for nearly a decade—a powerful, highly specialized instrument known as a Free-Electron Laser (FEL) at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa—is now sparking back to life, thanks to a new generation of accelerator physicists, determined to restore the FEL’s brilliance and redefine its potential.

Why the FEL matters

Unlike conventional lasers, the FEL produces tunable light (light that can be adjusted to different colors or energies) by accelerating electrons through alternating magnetic fields. This unique mechanism makes it a versatile tool, allowing researchers to probe matter at the molecular and atomic scale, making it a vital tool in physics and chemistry to biology and materials science. At UH Mānoa, the FEL facility engages in:

• Biological research
• Materials science research
• Nanostructure wake research
• Fundamental physics
• Advanced light source development

Since its invention, the FEL has enabled major breakthroughs in advancing scientific understanding, such as capturing ultrafast chemical reactions, determining the structure of complex proteins for drug development, and probing materials at the atomic scale to inform next-generation electronics and energy technologies.

Revival and expansion

In 2024, UH Mānoa took a strategic leap forward by hiring two rising stars in accelerator physics: Assistant Professor Siqi Li from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Assistant Professor Niels Bidault from CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland. Their mission: restart the FEL, upgrade its capabilities and carve a new path forward.

“Operating the FEL is like building a Swiss watch, but at the scale of a particle beam.” — Niels Bidault

“Operating the FEL is like building a Swiss watch, but at the scale of a particle beam,” said Bidault. “It requires precision across every domain—electrical engineering, vacuum science, magnets, diagnostics, high-voltage systems. Everything must align within millimeters or less in order to work.”

Li and Bidault are working with a team of two postdocs and several undergraduate students on tech upgrades. In addition, Li is leading a nearly $1-million Department of Energy Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research-funded project that develops a comprehensive simulation framework to fully understand FEL physics and combines traditional beam physics with cutting-edge machine learning techniques to optimize the FEL’s controls.

Related UH News stories:

• Renowned visiting accelerator expert praises UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s physics research innovations, February 24, 2025
• 3 UH research projects earn nearly $1M by Dept. of Energy, October 2, 2024

For more on how the FEL is helping to train the innovators of tomorrow, see . Noelo is UH’s research magazine from the .

A new type of star-like object called a “dark dwarf” that could provide clues into dark matter—one of the universe’s biggest mysteries—has been proposed by an international group of scientists, led by a researcher from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹.

Dark matter is an invisible substance that makes up about a quarter of the universe’s total matter. It does not emit or reflect light and can only be detected by its gravity. Despite decades of research, scientists still don’t know exactly what dark matter is.

Brown dwarfs to dark dwarfs

The study suggests that these dark dwarfs may form when brown dwarfs (small, faint “failed stars” that are too small to sustain the nuclear reactions that power normal stars) capture dark matter particles in areas where dark matter is dense, such as the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Inside these dark dwarfs, the dark matter particles collide and destroy each other, releasing energy that keeps the object glowing over long periods. This energy source is different from the nuclear fusion that powers normal stars such as the Sun.

The researchers said these dark dwarfs could be identified by the presence of lithium. Lithium burns up quickly in regular stars, but would remain inside dark dwarfs, offering a way to distinguish them from brown dwarfs. Astronomers may be able to detect dark dwarfs with advanced telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, by looking for these unique signatures in the galaxy’s center.

“Finding dark dwarfs would be an important step toward understanding the true nature of dark matter and the fundamental makeup of the universe,” said Jeremy Sakstein, study lead and assistant professor in UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s . “Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s rich tradition of astronomical research makes UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ an important hub for exploring the universe’s deepest mysteries.”

This study was published in July 2025 in the .

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s .

Will the universe keep expanding forever, or slow down and collapse? A University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ researcher contributed to the creation of the largest standardized collection of exploding stars, offering new clues that dark energy—which makes up about 70% of the universe and is thought to drive its accelerating expansion—might change over time.

The study, , used light from 2,087 Type Ia (pronounced “one A”) supernovae. These are powerful explosions that occur when certain types of stars die, and because they all explode in similar ways, scientists can use them like cosmic measuring sticks. Astronomers call these stellar explosions “standard candles” because their brightness is predictable, mimicking identical light bulbs scattered across the cosmos, making them perfect for measuring vast distances in space.

These explosions previously helped reveal in 1998 that the universe’s expansion is speeding up, a discovery that introduced the idea of dark energy and later earned a Nobel Prize. Since then, different experiments around the world have gathered supernova data using various tools and methods. To make the data easier to compare, researchers from the international created a new dataset called Union3. It corrects for differences in how the data was collected, allowing scientists to study the universe’s expansion more precisely.

Dark energy, predicting the future of the universe

The updated analysis showed small hints that dark energy may not be constant, which challenges the current leading model based on Albert Einstein’s theory. That model assumes dark energy stays the same over time.

If dark energy changes, it could affect predictions about the future of the universe, including whether it expands forever or eventually slows down. The findings match results from another project that used a different method to study how galaxies are spread out in space, adding weight to the possibility that dark energy might evolve.

The research was a collaboration among scientists from UH, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and institutions around the world. It also used computing power from UH’s high-performance cluster, Koa.

“This project shows how Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s expertise and computing power can help answer some of the biggest questions in the universe,” said David Rubin, lead author, associate professor in the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ and a leading member of the Supernova Cosmology Project. “It’s exciting that our work from Â鶹´«Ã½ is part of a global effort to unlock the secrets of dark energy.”

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹’s .

For more, .

A University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ physicist has received one of the world’s top honors in theoretical science for work that reshapes our understanding of gravity and the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Jeremy Sakstein, assistant professor in the , was awarded the 2025 Frontiers of Science Award by the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) for his influential research on gravitational waves. His study, co-authored with Bhuvnesh Jain of the University of Pennsylvania, was and examines the 2017 neutron star collision that sent both light and gravitational waves across the cosmos.

The research showed that the near-simultaneous arrival of those signals ruled out many alternative theories of gravity, bringing scientists closer to understanding what’s behind the universe’s mysterious acceleration—commonly referred to as dark energy.

“This recognition is incredibly humbling,” Sakstein said. “It shows that researchers here in Â鶹´«Ã½ are making significant contributions to some of the most fundamental questions in science. I hope this inspires our students and strengthens UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s role in shaping the future of cosmology and gravitational physics.”

The Frontiers of Science Award honors research of exceptional originality, scientific value and lasting impact. For 2025, just 40 works were selected across mathematics, theoretical physics and theoretical computer and information sciences. Winning research must be published within the past decade and widely accepted as a breakthrough in its field.

Sakstein will be honored at the Third International Congress of Basic Science in Beijing this July, where the world’s leading researchers will gather to celebrate cutting-edge discoveries in the natural sciences.

More than 250 students, faculty and community members gathered at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ on April 25, for a rare opportunity to learn directly from a Nobel Prize-winning physicist.

Arthur McDonald, co-recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics, delivered a public talk, “How to Know a Neutrino from a Hole in the Ground,” at Bilger Hall. The lecture offered insight into how researchers use underground laboratories to study neutrinos—tiny, nearly invisible particles that pass through everything around us. In addition to many curious facts, including bananas as sources of neutrinos, McDonald talked about the Nobel week festivities in Stockholm, Sweden in 2015, when he received his prize at the Nobel medal award ceremony.

McDonald shared stories from his work in Canada, where his team operated experiments 2 kilometers underground in a working mine, studying the properties of neutrinos produced in the Sun and arriving on Earth at nearly the speed of light. Their measurement of different types of neutrinos proved that neutrinos have mass, reshaping the field of particle physics.

“The talk was both informative and fun—and it was great to see so many of my friends from the department in the audience,” said Pui Hin Rhoads, an astronomy student.

Yeunggyun Kwon, an electrical engineering student, added, “I loved how he talked and was passionate about his topic. He also made it easy for us to understand. I knew neutrinos were shapeshifters but I didn’t know it could be part of our body!”

Open to all ages and backgrounds, the talk provided UH students and faculty with a valuable chance to engage with cutting-edge science and hear directly from a leading figure in the field. Faculty said the event sparked meaningful discussions and inspired new ideas for coursework and collaborative research with the , a deep underground experimental facility in Sudbury, Canada, one of the two top underground laboratories for fundamental physics in the world.

“Prof. McDonald impressed upon students that it is exciting and interesting to be a scientist, that many physicists working together can build amazing detectors, and the path to the discovery of neutrino mass was long and winding, albeit fun!” UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Professor Jelena Maricic said.

Honoring UH professor

McDonald’s visit was part of a multi-day symposium attended by a number of distinguished neutrino physicists from around the world, hosted by the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ to honor longtime professor John Learned. Learned has been deeply involved in the world of neutrinos. He’s worked on international science projects in places such as the Kamioka mine in Japan, unveiling properties of these nearly invisible particles and what they can tell us about the universe.

Learned had the early vision for building giant detectors underwater to study neutrinos from outside our galaxy, an idea that has since come to fruition in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Antarctic ice. This symposium honored his long and impactful career in unraveling the secrets of these fundamental building blocks of nature, while at the same time looking forward to the next generation of scientists and research.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is housed in UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s .

Jeffrey “Raven” Kromer, a senior at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Hilo, is reaching for the stars—literally. The double major in and , has received a national travel grant from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to present his research at the in Alghero, Sardinia, Italy, this May.

Kromer will present a project titled under his pen name, Raven Daegmorgan. His work compares sand dunes on Mars with basaltic grains found on Â鶹´«Ã½ Island—showing how volcanic landscapes on Earth can help scientists better understand other planets.

“Since both Â鶹´«Ã½ and Mars are volcanic, this island’s geology makes a high-fidelity science analog with the Martian surface,” said Kromer. “Dunes have been detected on the rocky planets Venus and Mars and are thought to give insights on atmospheric conditions and climate history.”

Pushing boundaries

Kromer’s passion for planetary science is matched by his academic ambition. Earlier this year, he earned a Â鶹´«Ã½ Space Grant Consortium to study dark matter in dwarf galaxies under the mentorship of Nicole Drakos, a UH Hilo assistant professor of physics and astronomy. He’s also preparing for a 10-week NASA internship working with teams at Johns Hopkins in Maryland and a research center in California.

“These opportunities really speak to my dream of one day being able to work for NASA on their amazing exploration projects, and thanks to my mentors and everyone here at UH Hilo, I’m getting to do that right now,” said Kromer.

Kromer is being mentored and supported by UH Hilo faculty John Hamilton (physics and astronomy) and, Steve Lundblad and Meghann Decker from the department.

Jean Takamura dedicated 42 years to the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹, serving with professionalism, grace and a deep commitment to helping others succeed. Starting as a stenographer in 1960, she worked her way through increasingly trusted business support roles—serving deans, vice presidents and chancellors—before retiring in 2002 as secretary to the interim Chancellor Deane Neubauer.

On April 28, Takamura returned to campus to celebrate a new chapter in her legacy. She and her sons—Blake, Guy and Clete, all UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ alumni, son-in-law Joe Whittinghill and daughter-in-law Teri Takamura—attended the annual UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Awards Ceremony, where the first recipients of the were honored. The endowment, established by her family in tribute to Jean and their father, Yukio, is the university’s first to recognize excellence among business support staff.

“The university holds a special place in my heart from my 42 years working there and that all three of my sons are alumni,” said Takamura. “I am thankful to my sons and family for establishing this important award that recognizes staff as key parts of the university. I met both award recipients. They are wonderful people and I am so happy for them to be recognized.”

Celebrating the inaugural honorees

The Jean Takamura Staff Excellence Award highlights the vital role of business support staff in the success of the University. Takamura was known not only for her attention to detail, but for her diplomacy, empathy and ability to build trusted relationships across campus.

The inaugural recipients are Michele Inouchi and Roy Tom, who both reflect the values that guided Takamura’s own career.

Inouchi, administrative officer in the , began her career at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ in 2001. Known for her “quiet but effective” approach, she plays a key role in fiscal operations, campus coordination and accessibility advocacy.

Tom, machinist in the , has served the university since 1967. His expert craftsmanship supports groundbreaking research, and his mentorship of student robotics teams has inspired generations.

• Related UH News story: From Moon dust to Antarctica: UH machinist approaches 60 years of service, July 30, 2024

“It’s unexpected,” said Tom. “Honestly, I don’t even have the words but it’s an honor.”

“It’s shocking—but I feel really appreciated,” said Inouchi. “I’ve been here for a couple of decades now, and this really touches me.”

Each honoree received a $1,000 staff grant in recognition of their contributions. Nominated by department leaders, the recipients were selected by ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Staff Senate Chair Andrew Sensano and the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Provost Michael Bruno.

Through this endowment, Takamura’s legacy continues, recognizing and uplifting those whose work often happens behind the scenes, and is essential to UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s mission.

Scientists have been on the hunt to determine where and how much ice is present on the Moon. Water ice would be an important resource at a potential future lunar base, as it could be used to support humans or be broken down to hydrogen and oxygen, key components of rocket fuel. University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ researchers are using two innovative approaches to advance the search for ice on the Moon.

NASA‘s ShadowCam scouts for surface ice

Water ice was previously detected in the permanently shaded regions of the Moon’s north and south poles by Shuai Li, assistant researcher at the (HIGP) in the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ (SOEST). A led by Jordan Ando, planetary sciences graduate student in Li’s laboratory, examined images from a specialized camera, NASA‘s ShadowCam, that is aboard the Korea Aerospace Research Institute Korea Lunar Pathfinder Orbiter.

Related UH News stories:

• Water on the Moon; team confirms with ground equipment, January 10, 2022
• Direct evidence of ice on Moon surface discovered, August 21, 2018

Craters in the Moon’s polar regions receive no direct sunlight, but sunlight that bounces off of one side of a crater can indirectly illuminate another side. The ShadowCam, designed specifically to look only at the dark, permanently shaded areas on the Moon, is extremely sensitive to the indirect light reflected off the lunar surface.

“Ice is generally brighter, that is, reflects more light, than rocks,” said Ando. “We analyzed high-quality images from this sensitive camera to look really closely into these permanently shaded areas and investigate whether water ice in these regions leads to widespread brightening of the surface.”

The analysis of Shadow Cam images indicates that water ice makes up less than 20% of the lunar surface.

Cosmic rays help search for buried ice

Another group of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ researchers with HIGP and recently in Geophysical Research Letters that outlines an innovative approach to detect buried ice deposits at the Moon’s poles.

“We showed that a new technique for detecting buried water ice on the Moon is possible using naturally occurring cosmic rays,” said Emily S. Costello, study lead author and researcher at HIGP. “These ultra-high-energy cosmic rays strike the lunar surface and penetrate to the layers below. The rays emit radar waves that bounce off buried ice and rock layers, which we can use to infer what’s below the surface.”

The team used an advanced computer simulation that tests how radar waves travel through the lunar soil and how they encode information about possible buried ice layers. A team of HIGP and Department of Physics and Astronomy researchers are working to assemble a radar instrument specifically tuned to listen for these signals on the Moon and hope to test the full system by early 2026. They will look for opportunities to send it to the Moon to hopefully detect large deposits of buried water ice on the Moon for the first time.

“More and more, Â鶹´«Ã½ is becoming a hub for space exploration, and specifically the exploration of the Moon,” said Costello. “These projects, led by UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ scientists, represent up-and-coming opportunities for students and professionals in Â鶹´«Ã½ to lead and participate in the budding space industry.”

Read the entire story on the .

—By Marcie Grabowski