{"id":235651,"date":"2026-06-05T12:41:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=235651"},"modified":"2026-06-05T12:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:42:16","slug":"andrade-soriano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/05\/andrade-soriano\/","title":{"rendered":"Next gen grads aim to solve environmental challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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(Photo credit: Steven Businger)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spring 2026 graduates of the Global Environmental Science<\/a> (GES<\/abbr>) undergraduate program at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> took with them a bachelor\u2019s degree and real-world, hands-on experiences with research that benefits communities and ecosystems in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and far beyond.<\/p>\n

Through the GES<\/abbr> program in the Department of Oceanography<\/a> at the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST<\/abbr>), students including Makana Andrade and Micah Soriano, engaged in original research, wrote a senior thesis and presented their findings at a research symposium.<\/p>\n

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Makana Andrade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I congratulate all our spring graduates on successfully completing their required faculty-mentored thesis experience,” said Michael Guidry, chair of the GES<\/abbr> Program. “As with all our GES<\/abbr> graduates and their thesis work, Makana\u2019s and Micah\u2019s findings demonstrate how the research efforts of UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> undergraduates provide new insights and solutions to important issues and train the next generation of problem solvers.”<\/p>\n

Makana Andrade<\/h2>\n

Andrade was born and raised on Oʻahu,<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½.<\/span> During his second year of transfer to UH<\/abbr> Mānoa,<\/span> he started working on his thesis with his mentor, Travis Idol, associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management<\/a> in the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience<\/a>. His thesis focused on the response of Acacia koaia<\/em>, a tree endemic to Â鶹´«Ã½,<\/span> to nursery practices done on similar species, specifically Acacia koa<\/em>. Andrade\u2019s study examined koaiʻa’s<\/span> growth patterns from seed to seedling to determine its preferred soil type, nutrient uptake, and watering requirements, in an effort to ensure they are readily available for population revitalization.<\/p>\n

After graduation, Andrade hopes to continue pursuing his passion for the conservation of Hawaiian endemic species and working in the wilderness.<\/p>\n

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Micah Soriano<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Micah Soriano<\/h2>\n

As a GES<\/abbr> student with a passion for chemistry, Soriano reached out to SOEST<\/abbr> oceanography professor Nick Hawco and joined the Hawco Lab the summer after his sophomore year. Since then, Soriano has helped with various projects, gaining valuable experience. For his senior research thesis, Soriano explored how vitamin B12 availability in the Southern Ocean limits how effectively diatoms, a type of phytoplankton, can process and use essential metals for growth.<\/p>\n

After graduation, he plans to work for a year or two before continuing his academic studies.<\/p>\n

For more information, see SOEST<\/abbr>\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students Makana Andrade and Micah Soriano engaged in original research, wrote a senior thesis and presented their findings at a research symposium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":235656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[212,1298,544,92,660,9],"class_list":["post-235651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-global-environmental-science","tag-natural-resources-and-environmental-management","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-student-recognition","tag-uh-manoa","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