{"id":222840,"date":"2025-09-30T12:38:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T22:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=222840"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:18:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T21:18:17","slug":"space-science-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/30\/space-science-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"Space science takes center stage at UH<\/abbr> international symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"person<\/p>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> showcased its growing role in global astronomy and space research by hosting an international symposium, September 22–24, bringing together leading experts from Japan and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to explore the future of ground- and space-based science and technology.<\/p>\n

The three-day event at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/a>, Institute for Astronomy (IfA<\/abbr>) in Hilo<\/a> and Subaru and Gemini observatories, was part of UH<\/abbr>\u2019s Space Science and Engineering Initiative<\/a> (SSEI<\/abbr>), which is positioning the university as a hub for cutting-edge space research, engineering and workforce training. More than 45 participants—22 from Japan and 25 from UH<\/abbr>—took part in sessions on cosmology, exoplanets, planetary science, cosmochemistry and astrophysics, along with specialized discussions on telescope technologies, optics, detectors and spectrometers.<\/p>\n

\"people<\/p>\n

“This symposium highlights Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s unique role in global space research and underscores our commitment to training the next generation of scientists and engineers right here at home,” UH<\/abbr> President Wendy Hensel said. “We are proud that UH<\/abbr> continues to expand its expertise and work in this field.”<\/p>\n

“One of our goals is to create an academic pathway for students in space sciences and engineering that will develop a well-qualified, locally based workforce pipeline to service the needs of our world-class observatories here in the islands,” UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Interim Provost Vassilis Syrmos said.<\/p>\n

\"room<\/p>\n

Participants toured UH<\/abbr>\u2019s advanced laboratories, including the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Space Flight Laboratory Clean Room, the Adaptive Secondary Mirror Lab and the Advanced Detector Development and Engineering Research Laboratory. The final day featured tours of IfA<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Photonics Lab, Adaptive Secondary Mirror Lab, Advanced Detector Development and Engineering Research Lab, and visits to the Subaru and Gemini observatories on Maunakea, underscoring Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s unique role as home to some of the world\u2019s most powerful astronomical facilities.<\/p>\n

The symposium was built on a series of high-level meetings among UH<\/abbr>, University of Tokyo (UTokyo<\/abbr>) and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ<\/abbr>), which operates the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea. The expanded collaboration is expected to include joint research projects, testing of new instruments, faculty exchanges and student training opportunities.<\/p>\n

“It became clear to all of us at this symposium that UH<\/abbr>, NAOJ<\/abbr> and UTokyo<\/abbr> each have their own unique institutional strengths in research on space science, engineering and technology,” said Hiroaki Aihara, executive director and vice president of the University of Tokyo. “A UH<\/abbr>–NAOJ<\/abbr>–UTokyo<\/abbr> partnership can only enhance our research capacity.”<\/p>\n

NAOJ<\/abbr> Director General Mamoru Doi added, “The symposium clearly shows that various new developments in space and ground-based technology are expected for future astronomy and astrophysics. By working closely, UH<\/abbr>, NAOJ<\/abbr> and UTokyo<\/abbr> can achieve not only innovative research but also foster next generation leading researchers both in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and Japan.”<\/p>\n

More about SSEI<\/abbr><\/h2>\n

UH<\/abbr> launched SSEI<\/abbr> to harness Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s natural advantages in astronomy while building local expertise in engineering and manufacturing for space-based missions. The initiative is backed by state support to create a new space engineering and instrument development center in Hilo, which is expected to expand Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s technology sector, bring in millions of dollars in research funding and create high-paying jobs for residents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The symposium was built on a series of high-level meetings among UH<\/abbr>, University of Tokyo and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":222842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[34,182,406,35,1467,1363,174,9,947],"class_list":["post-222840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-astronomy","tag-engineering","tag-hawaii-space-flight-laboratory","tag-institute-for-astronomy","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-space","tag-uh-manoa","tag-uh-system","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/system-ovpri-space-science-symposium-demonstration.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222840"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223113,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222840\/revisions\/223113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}