{"id":220426,"date":"2025-08-19T15:10:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T01:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=220426"},"modified":"2025-08-19T15:44:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T01:44:31","slug":"uh-dpaa-mou-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/19\/uh-dpaa-mou-signing\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr>, Defense POW\/MIA<\/abbr> Accounting Agency sign landmark partnership agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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UH<\/abbr> President Wendy Hensel and DPAA<\/abbr> Director Kelly K. McKeague sign five-year agreement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> System and the Defense POW<\/abbr>\/MIA<\/abbr> Accounting Agency (DPAA<\/abbr>) have officially entered into a new Education Partnership Agreement aimed at enhancing science and technology education while advancing DPAA<\/abbr>\u2019s critical mission of accounting for missing U.S. personnel from past conflicts.<\/p>\n

The five-year agreement, signed on August 19, by UH<\/abbr> President Wendy Hensel and DPAA<\/abbr> Director Kelly K. McKeague, creates a formal framework for collaborative research, educational enrichment and workforce development. Under the agreement, UH<\/abbr> students and faculty will gain access to DPAA<\/abbr>\u2019s scientific expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, data collections and assignment opportunities, while DPAA<\/abbr> will benefit from UH<\/abbr>\u2019s innovation initiatives, academic resources, and talented staff and students.<\/p>\n

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“This partnership exemplifies how state and federal institutions can work together to inspire and nurture the next generation of researchers and public servants,” said Hensel. “Through hands-on experience and direct mentorship from DPAA<\/abbr> experts, our students will be uniquely positioned to contribute to a mission rooted in honor, science and service.”<\/p>\n

This agreement will also allow DPAA<\/abbr> to continue to work with UH<\/abbr> on joint efforts to develop new methods and technologies to support DPAA<\/abbr>\u2019s personnel recovery operations. Since 2021, DPAA<\/abbr> partnered with the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa\u2019s Department of Anthropology<\/a> to develop Cambodia’s archaeological capacity through the Cambodian Completion Initiative, which enables Cambodian archaeologists to potentially lead investigative and recovery-type accounting operations in their home country.<\/p>\n

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More recently, DPAA<\/abbr> also worked with the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a>\u2019s Willed Body Program to develop a database of isotopic signatures of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>-based individuals to establish comparisons with continental U.S. American and Asian populations to help in DPAA<\/abbr>\u2019s efforts to distinguish Asian American personnel missing from World War II<\/abbr> and the Korean War.<\/p>\n

“The Daniel K. Inouye Center of Excellence, located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, is the preeminent forensic science laboratory in the world,” said McKeague. “Through this strategic partnership with UH<\/abbr>, DPAA<\/abbr> is able to leverage their cutting-edge academic research and technological innovation to advance our humanitarian mission. This collaboration also provides unique educational and professional development opportunities for students and researchers who are passionate about public service and science.”<\/p>\n

The UH<\/abbr> and DPAA<\/abbr> Education Partnership Agreement connects academic talent with real-world challenges, and fosters an environment where academic discovery and national service go hand in hand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The five-year agreement creates a formal framework for collaborative research, educational enrichment and workforce development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":220480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1193],"tags":[137,31,1467,1363,9,947],"class_list":["post-220426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-administrative","tag-anthropology","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-uh-manoa","tag-uh-system","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