{"id":168264,"date":"2022-10-28T15:25:17","date_gmt":"2022-10-29T01:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=168264"},"modified":"2022-10-28T15:25:17","modified_gmt":"2022-10-29T01:25:17","slug":"water-resilience-in-hawaii-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/10\/28\/water-resilience-in-hawaii-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> brings experts, policymakers together to focus on water resources"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"people<\/p>\n

Water is our most important resource, and it has become more critical than ever to develop resilient and sustainable practices for future generations to thrive.<\/p>\n

\"water<\/p>\n

To foster collaboration and partnerships between water experts and policymakers, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> hosted “Water Resilience in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a>” on October 28, at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Convention Center. Approximately 200 participants attended the conference that brought together academic researchers from UH<\/abbr>, and UH<\/abbr>\u2019s industry and community partners, to engage in meaningful partnerships to solve challenges, while promoting economic stability and viability in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n

“The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is a research institution that has a lot of expertise on water and all types of issues,” said Vassilis L. Syrmos<\/strong>, UH<\/abbr> vice president for research and innovation<\/a>. “With our laboratories and excellent faculty we can actually solve a lot of these issues.”<\/p>\n

Cultural and historical perspectives<\/h2>\n

A major focus of the conference was on the cultural and historical approaches to water management in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. UH<\/abbr> experts, including those who are involved with important cultural organizations in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, shared their ʻike<\/span> and manaʻo<\/span> (knowledge and thoughts).<\/p>\n

“Traditional practices are actually sciences and technology and spiritualities. Water is a key component of it that was vital not just for our spiritual needs but also for us to meet contemporary society with,” said Kamuela Enos<\/strong>, director of the UH<\/abbr> Office of Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation.<\/p>\n

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Pacific Biosciences Research Center Assistant Professor Kiana Frank delivered the keynote address.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enos opened the conference with an oli (chant), followed by remarks from UH<\/abbr> President David Lassner<\/strong> and Juanita Kanehailua Wolfgramm<\/strong>, vice president of the conference\u2019s title sponsor Native Hawaiian Community Development Corporation and UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa alumna. UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Pacific Biosciences Research Center<\/a> Assistant Professor Kiana Frank<\/strong> delivered the morning keynote address on how her connections to water in Windward Oʻahu<\/span> helped shape her career path to research and connecting it back to the ʻaina<\/span> (land). This was followed by the first panel on the cultural and historical significance of water in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Other sessions included: Water Policy and Strategy in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>; Challenges, Opportunities, Strategies and Tactics to Address Water Quality Issues in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>; and Red Hill\u2026Moving Forward. U.S. Sen<\/abbr>. Brian Schatz and Edward Laws<\/strong>, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa emeritus professor of oceanography, delivered the afternoon keynote addresses.<\/p>\n

George Yarbrough<\/strong>, innovation and entrepreneurship programs director at the UH<\/abbr> Office of Innovation and Commercialization<\/a>, gave a sneak peek into HITIDE<\/abbr><\/a> (Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Technology Innovation Development Ecosystem), UH<\/abbr>\u2019s new innovation incubator program that provides concierge services, seed funding and resources specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of academic entrepreneurs with UH<\/abbr>-affiliated, technology startups.<\/p>\n

The conference was sponsored by the UH<\/abbr> Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation in partnership with the Native Hawaiian Community Development Corporation and the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Technology Development Corporation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Approximately 200 participants attended the conference that brought together academic researchers from UH<\/abbr>, and UH<\/abbr>\u2019s industry and community partners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1477,179,301,197,182,1505,154,107,1432,149,92,1026,9,947,343,1043,347,68],"class_list":["post-168264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-civil-environmental-construction-engineering","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-college-of-social-sciences","tag-economics","tag-engineering","tag-innovation","tag-law","tag-oceanography","tag-office-of-innovation-and-commercialization","tag-pacific-biosciences-research-center","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-social-science","tag-uh-manoa","tag-uh-system","tag-uhero","tag-water","tag-water-resources-research-center","tag-william-s-richardson-school-of-law","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t