Nellie Sugii in Lyon Arboretum's Micropropagation Lab

The Chamberlin Family Foundation has pledged $100,000 to support the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum’s Micropropagation Lab capital improvement project. This project will develop significantly greater lab capacity and enhance the critical rescue and recovery work the arboretum undertakes to protect and save the most rare of Hawaiʻi’s native plants.

The new laboratory facilities will nearly double the size of the lab and provide greater storage capacity for endangered plants. It also include a viewing and interpretive component where visitors can view scientists at work and learn from interpretative materials.

“The arboretum’s Hawaiian Rare Plant Program is the primary living plant and seed storage facility for the government and private conservation programs in the State of Hawai’i. If we are to meet the pressing conservation needs a larger, efficient and updated laboratory is imperative,” said Christopher Dunn, Harold L. Lyon Arboretum director.

“We greatly appreciate the Chamberlin Family Foundation’s support which will have a tremendous impact on the efforts to rescue, recover and rehabilitate threatened plant species in the State of Hawaiʻi and around the tropical world,” said Dunn.

Micropropagation Lab

The arboretum’s Micropropagation Lab, the only one of its kind in Hawaiʻi, is vital in preventing the extinction of Native Hawaiian plant species by maintaining plant and seed bank collection, and propagating plants for use in restoration and reintroduction projects. Currently this lab houses more than 16,000 individual plants and 160 native plant species, which is less than 50 percent of the species requiring protection.

“Approximately 90 percent of the 1,400 plant species native to the Hawaiian Islands are found nowhere else in the world. Consequently, Hawaiʻi has the dubious distinction of being the ‘Endangered Species Capital of the World,’ with more than 300 plant species listed as endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Nellie Sugii, director of Lyon Arboretum’s Hawaiian Rare Plant Program.


The plants are grown from tissue samples taken from seeds, cuttings and other parts of plants found in the wild by teams of field botanists from state and federal agencies and environmental organizations that work cooperatively with Lyon Arboretum in these joint conservation efforts.

The Hawaiian Rare Plant Program serves as a critical resource for restoring and reintroducing Native Hawaiian plants to the islands and for preserving these plants in a safe environment for the future.

UH Maui College students signed a banner and pledged their commitment to completing their degrees.

More than 150 University of Hawaiʻi Maui College students recently pledged to complete their degrees or certifications as part of a national community college movement to promote college completion.

UH Maui College’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society led the Commit to Complete pledge signing ceremony and event as students gathered to sign the pledge banner now housed in the campus’ student lounge.

One student who signed the UH Maui College pledge banner remarked, “I already made this promise to myself, but it feels more real now that I signed the pledge.”

Statistics show the surest way for anyone to land a job in their chosen field is to finish college and earn a degree or certificate. By signing the pledge, UH Maui College students promised to complete their degrees and certifications before leaving community college for transfer or to enter the job market.

About the Community College Completion Challenge

In April 2010, leaders of six national organizations representing the nation’s 1,200 community colleges, their governing boards, their faculty and their 11.8 million students pledged in a statement of commitment to increase student completion rates by 50 percent over the next decade. Leaders of the American Association of Community Colleges, Association of Community College Trustees, League for Innovation, Center for Community College Student Engagement, National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, and Phi Theta Kappa signed the Democracy’s Colleges Call to Action statement to engage all stakeholders in supporting community college completion.

In October 2010, the first White House Summit on Community Colleges was hosted by Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden and a community college professor. President Barack Obama, philanthropist Melinda Gates and a host of speakers praised community colleges for serving almost half of the nation’s college students and playing a pivotal role in educating the workforce. President Obama has called for community colleges to produce an additional 5 million degrees and certificates in the next 10 years, part of his goal to restore the United States as the world’s leader in college graduates.

The Community College Completion Challenge website showcases the missions, action plans and strategies developed by each organization to involve their constituency in a joint venture to produce 5 million more associate degree and certificate holders by 2020.

Hana Omar

Hana Omar, a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Education doctoral student and former graduate assistant for the Center on Disability Studies, was selected to serve as a woman diplomat for a newly created program in the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Originally from Saudi Arabia, Omar has been in the College of Education since 2008, earning an interdisciplinary certificate in disability and diversity studies and working on her PhD in educational technology.

One of 15 women, including a Saudi Arabian princess, Omar was selected out of 30,000 candidates. “Now is a great time in Saudi Arabia for the women’s movement,” said Omar. “Many government sectors, like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have opened their doors for women.”

Omar is currently at the Diplomacy Institute in Riyadh, the country’s capital city, where she will undergo eight months of training in language, international policy and diplomacy. Once she has completed the training, she will be eligible to serve the Saudi Arabian government in foreign embassies and consulates worldwide.

Assistant Professor Megan Conway, who supervised Omar as a graduate assistant at the Center on Disability Studies, said, “Hana is a bright and confident young woman. I am not surprised she has been given an opportunity like this, and I am sure she will do well with wherever her career takes her.”

Criteria for selection were based on Omar’s language proficiency and personality in an interview. In addition to Arabic, Omar speaks English fluently and is studying French at the institute. While she does not know how long she will work in the ministry before going abroad, she hopes her assignments include the United States where she has become familiar with the culture and is completing her PhD.

—by Jennifer Park, communications coordinator, College of Education

Hoʻoponopono team working on their nanosatellite

A nanosatellite designed by a team of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa electrical and mechanical engineering students is 1 of 33 selected to fly as auxiliary cargo on National Aeronautics and Space Administration missions planned during 2013 and 2014. This is the second year in a row that NASA has selected a nanosatellite from the College of Engineering’s Small-Satellite Program.

Both UH Mānoa nanosatellites are named Hoʻoponopono (to make right), in accordance with their mission of providing calibration for radar stations around the world.

Both nanosatellites take the form of a so-called CubeSat, which is about the size of a loaf of bread. The first CubeSat Hoʻoponopono 2, which was selected last year and is manifested for an upcoming NASA launch, is intended to be a demonstration mission lasting less than a year. The second CubeSat Hoʻoponopono 3 will incorporate lessons learned from the first mission, and placed in longer-lasting orbit.

For this year’s competition, NASA received 43 proposals for its CubeSat Launch Initiative. Hoʻoponopono 3 was ranked 6 on NASA’s priority list.

Hoʻoponopono 3 team (photo by Rick Wagner)

Small-Satellite Program

More than 200 students have participated in the UH Mānoa Small-Satellite Program, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

“Small satellites aren’t just enablers of new technologies and systems,” said Professor of Electrical Engineering Wayne Shiroma. “They’re enabling a whole new generation of students for whom traditional educational methods don’t seem to work. These students find open-ended, discovery-based, group learning to be more effective than the traditional blackboard-and-textbook educational paradigm.”

The students have helped write proposals that have resulted in over $1 million in extramural funding and four launches. They also contributed to numerous publications including the first book on educational CubeSats and have pursued advanced degrees and careers in the space industry.

“Small-satellite project-based learning not only emphasizes the multidisciplinary aspect of engineering, but also integrates life experiences that result in a different kind of engineer that is more adaptable in today’s rapidly changing work environment.”

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will host the third annual UH Saves Day, February 22 and 23. The event features educational workshops, exhibits, lectures and a game show competition testing student teams on financial concepts. UH Saves Day is part of the national America Saves Week campaign.

Event Schedule

Arkadi Kuhlmann holds a public lecture at UH Saves Day event

A highlight of the two-day celebration is a public lecture by Arkadi Kuhlmann, the founder and CEO of ING Direct USA, on Wednesday, February 22, 5:30 p.m. at Shidler College of Business, room A101. The lecture, When All Else Fails Rock Then Roll, is free and open to the public. Reserve a seat.

On Thursday, February 23, the event continues from 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at Campus Center with exhibits featuring financial institutions, government agencies and non-profit organizations.

Educational workshops

• Smart Money Management—10:30 a.m.
• The Wise Use of Credit—11:00 a.m.
• Financing Graduate Education—11:00 a.m.
• Investment Strategies for a Changing World—noon

Attendees are also eligible to participate in a scavenger hunt from 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at Campus Center by attending one workshop and visiting at least three exhibitors.

A LifeSmarts Challenge will be held on Thursday, February 23, in the Hale Aloha Cafeteria from 5:30–6:30 p.m. Student teams will compete for scholarships and audience members are eligible for prizes.

Exhibitors

Exhibitors include American Savings Bank, Bank of Hawaiʻi, UH Federal Credit Union, First Hawaiian Bank, Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union, ING Direct Bank, various State of Hawaiʻi Departments, UH Mānoa Career Services, AARP Hawaiʻi, Better Business Bureau Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Homeownership Center, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Hawaiʻi, FDIC, Internal Revenue Service, Financial Aid Services, UH Mānoa Student Parents at Mānoa and America Saves.

Event Sponsors

UH Saves Day is sponsored by the UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Cooperative Extension Service, Campus Center Board, Office of Undergraduate Education, Office of Financial Aid Services, Student Life and Development, Shidler College of Business and the Diversity and Equity Initiative.

Email for more information.

The University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center and Xcel have teamed up in the fight against skin cancer to host the I Love the Skin I’m In t-shirt design contest.

The winning entry, which must inform and motivate young adults to help prevent skin cancer, will be featured on one of Xcel’s sun protective t-shirts.

With approximately 5,000 new skin cancer cases diagnosed every year, Hawaiʻi’s youth are among those at greatest risk. The I Love the Skin I’m In campaign highlights key prevention methods in reducing exposure to UV radiation by utilizing sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and sun-protective clothing, and by seeking shade.

The contest is open to all Hawaiʻi residents between the ages of 13 and 25. Entries must be received by March 31, 2012.

Contest details can be found on the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center website.

Students collect and view microbes using a video microscope.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education distributed digital video microscopes and related supplies to some HawaiʻI Department of Education middle schools statewide. C-MORE hopes this new program will shed light on the hidden world of micro-organisms.

“Every drop of sea water contains some of the most important organisms on the planet, and most people probably don’t even realize it,” said Jim Foley, a marine science educator with C-MORE. “Microbes are the engines of the marine food web, and produce about half of the oxygen that we breathe.”

“These lessons are blowing them away,” one teacher commented after the students used the digital video microscope. “They had no idea that there were microscopic things living in the ocean and they asked millions of questions along the lines of ‘So when we swim at the beach, these things are touching us?’ and if there were ‘things’ in our drinking water. It totally opened their eyes to the fact that there are microscopic creatures all around us.”

The program is a partnership with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education and the UH Fostering Inspiration and Relevance through Science and Technology Pre-Academy Initiative.

To receive the equipment, teachers must attend a C-MORE professional development workshop to learn how to safely collect plankton and how to operate and care for the microscope. For more information, visit C-MORE’s website or read the news release.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Vice president Lyndon B. Johnson, far right, breaks ground for the East-West Center in May, 1961. Assisting are, from left, Hawai´i governor William F. Quinn, U.S. senators Hiram L. Fong and Oren E. Long, and U.S. representative Daniel K. Inouye.

Harry S Truman

President Harry S Truman receives an honorary degree from UH president Gregg M. Sinclair on April 24, 1953 at Andrews Outdoor Theatre.

Richard M. Nixon

Vice president Richard M. Nixon smiles broadly as UH president Laurence H. Snyder, left, and UH administrative vice president William Wachter look on. Nixon visited Manoa on August 3, 1960 to view the scale model of the proposed East-West Center.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

President Dwight D. Eisenhower is given his hood as part of an honorary doctoral degree from Board of Regents chair Philip E. Spalding and vice chair Fred K. Lam, M.D., on June 24, 1960, as UH president Laurence H. Snyder looks on.

Hubert H. Humphrey

Vice president Hubert H. Humphrey greets Regent Monsignor Charles Kekumano on January 2, 1966 prior to receiving an honorary degree.

Lyndon B. Johnson

President Lyndon B. Johnson and wife Lady Bird visit the East West Center on October 17, 1966. With the Johnsons are U.S. representative Spark Matsunaga, left, and Hawai´i governor John A. Burns. Johnson also visited UH as vice president in 1961 to receive an honorary degree.

In honor of President’s Day and as a tribute to our nation’s leaders, here is a look at visits to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the East-West Center by U.S. presidents and vice-presidents through the years.

There were also visits to the East-West Center by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to address the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders, and by President Barack Obama in January, 2012 to view an exhibition on the anthropological work of his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham.

Thank you to the UH Archives and the East-West Center for their assistance.

The University of Hawaiʻi would like to express its deepest appreciation to the Honolulu Fire Department for the fine job its firefighters did in controlling and extinguishing Sunday’s fire at portable building 171D, housing the UH System’s Financial Management Office. The following are updates and status reports on progress and recovery in key areas of interest to the general public and university family.

Information: A dedicated URL address has been established for UH employees, students and the general public to receive updated information on recovery progress as well as where to go to get specific questions answered.

Staff and Personnel: Approximately 53 employees in the fiscal division are being relocated temporarily and being equipped with computers, phones, internet connectivity and furniture so that regular duties can be resumed as soon as possible. Please bear with us as we resituate staff and return to normal operations.

Documents and information: Staff has begun recovering and examining documents stored in fireproof cabinets and, as hoped, determined that many survived in useable condition. This process will continue until all salvageable materials and files have been recovered.

Building: Preliminary investigations have concluded that the fire was unintentional and the fire’s origin was electrical in nature. The damaged structure has been cleared for destruction and unsalvageable materials will be appropriately disposed of; this will commence soon. The university has not yet determined what reconstruction on the site will occur.

Vendor information: Due dates for all competitive solicitations and bids that are due for goods, services and construction have been suspended. The Office of Procurement and Real Property Management will issue an Amendment to establish new submittal deadlines upon re-opening of the office.

Surrounding area: Neighbors and others who had property damage as a result of the fire and wish to file a claim with the university’s insurer or obtain information may contact the university’s Risk Management Office at (808) 956-7243 or online.

Claims forms may be downloaded.

After receipt of all required claims information, a decision will be made by the appropriate parties and the claimants will be contacted.

The university will post timely updates online as needed, along with instructions on where to go with specific questions.

Beginning February 16, the University of Hawaiʻi will utilize a new electronic system that modernizes current research administration practices and reduces paper-intensive processes for researchers and administrators at all 10 UH campuses statewide.

Implemented by the Office of Research Services, myGRANT is the university’s online application for proposal development and creation and grant administration. It is currently live and available to principal investigators to use for proposal entry. All university researchers and administrative staff involved in the proposal development and submission process are encouraged to visit the ORS myGRANT information website to become familiar with the system.

On Feb. 16, all proposals and related approvals will be routed through myGRANT’s electronic workflow. The proposal data entered into myGRANT and submitted for electronic routing and workflow approval will replace the current ORS Form 5 and its corresponding approval process.

Training offered

Training for myGRANT is currently being offered for principal investigators, fiscal and administrative officers and all individuals involved in the proposal development and submission process.

Classroom training sessions are designed to give the user hands-on training and include a brief introduction of myGRANT and a comparison of the current hard-copy process to the myGRANT process for proposal development and submission; a demonstration of the myGRANT proposal development and submission process; use of the myGRANT online training module; and development of a proposal by each participant using myGRANT.

Online training is also available in the university’s Laulima online learning system.

In addition to training and online resources, including frequently asked questions, the Office of Research Services has expanded its Helpline hours to provide additional support to the UH community. Call the ORS Helpline at (808) 956-5198 or submit a support ticket online.

About myGRANT

myGRANT is a system-to-system electronic research administration system of Kuali-Coeus, one of the major projects of the Kuali Foundation. UH is currently implementing another Kuali Foundation project, the Kuali Financial System, which will go live on July 1, 2012.