School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology

Announcements

For other announcements, including weekly seminars, please see the SOEST Bulletin.

Pauley Seminar in Sustainability

Free public lecture by world renowned sustainability visionary Edward Mazria

Wed 08 Oct • 6:30 pm
UH Manoa School of Architecture Auditorium, Room 205

Download the flyer for more information.

Marine Debris Awareness Month at Hanauma Bay

Every Thursday in October (see calendar for details), the UH Sea Grant Hanauma Bay Education Program invites the public to learn about the devastating effect of marine debris on seabirds and other marine life. The series is hosted at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.

For more information, contact the UH Sea Grant Hanauma Bay Education Program at (808) 397-5840 or hanauma@hawaii.edu, or visit their web site.

G. Jeffrey Taylor to Receive Carl Sagan Medal

Photo of Jeff Taylor

Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) planetary scientist Jeff Taylor has been named the 2008 recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science.

The prize recognizes and honors outstanding contributions by active planetary scientists to the public's understanding of, and enthusiasm for, planetary science. Taylor is the ninth recipient of the Sagan Medal and the first from UH.

Read more about the award in the SOEST press release (PDF) and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and about his lecture at Media Newswire.

SOEST Young Investigator Postdoctoral Program Invites Applications

We are seeking junior scientists and engineers with outstanding abilities. See the SYI page for more information.

Hawai‘i’s Dynamic Ocean: Hawai‘i Ocean Observing System Lecture Series

August 2008 – February 2009

6 pm in the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel’s “Kalakaua Room”
(2335 Kalakaua Ave).

Download the flyer PDF for the detailed schedule of lectures.

SOEST in the News

UH team awarded $8 million to trace cosmic origin of Earth’s water

Apollo 17 photo of Earth. Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) scientists Gary Huss, Sasha Krot, Ed Scott, and Klaus Keil, oceanographers Michael Mottl, David Karl, and James Cowen; and geobiologist Eric Gaidos, are co-investigators on the science team of the University of Hawai‘i’s NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), which has just received a five-year, $8 million NASA seed grant to investigate where Earth's water came from and what its origins mean for life in the universe. The principal investigator is Karen Meech of the Institute for Astronomy (IFA).

Read more about it in the Honolulu Advertiser, SpaceRef, and KHNL NBC 8. Image courtest of NASA.

“Slow earthquake” at Kilauea volcano, Hawai‘i

Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) associate researcher Ben Brooks, assistant researcher James Foster, and associate professor Cecily Wolfe were part of a team that discovered that a 2007 dike intrusion in Kilauea triggered a “slow earthquake” on the volcano’s south flank. The findings, reported in an article in the prestigious journal Science, demonstrate how magmatism and earthquake faulting at Kilaue‘a can be tightly connected.

Read more about it in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, News@UH, and the SOEST press release PDF. Photo courtesy of NASA; click on it for the full version.

UH-Navy laboratory first assignment: offshore munitions risks

Graphic of chemical bomb. The first project under the University of Hawai‘i’s new Navy Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) is an $850,000 award for continued investigation of possible threats in waters at "Ordnance Reef" off O‘ahu’s Wai‘anae coast. The new UH study, sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers, is in response to community concerns that the 2006 study did not consider changes in water quality and biotic and sediment composition that may vary seasonally. The leader on this project is Oceanography research professor Eric DeCarlo.

Read more about it at Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the UH press release. Image courtesy US DOD.

HNEI awarded $5 million to establish renewable energy center

Photo of wave by Steven Businger. The Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) has been selected to establish one of two National Marine Renewable Energy Centers by the US Department of Energy with a grant of approximately $1 million per year for up to five years. These Centers are public-private partnerships that will assess and evaluate the viability and cost-competitiveness of using advanced water power systems that harness the power of waves and ocean thermal energy conversion.

Read more about it in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and at the HNEI web page. Image courtesy of Dr Steven Businger.

Three Top-Ten Rankings for SOEST Programs

Three SOEST programs: Oceanography, Physical Sciences (2nd), Marine Science (4th), and Geophysics (7th) continue in good company in the Academic Analytics FSP Index for Top Performing Individual Programs 2006-2007.

Read More about it in the UH Press Release.

For more news, visit our News and Awards & Honors pages, and read the weekly SOEST Bulletin.

BE PREPARED : Hurricane season is June 1st through November 30th.

Information on disaster preparedness can be found on the Hawai‘i State Civil Defense web site and in the Homeowner’s Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards available from UH Sea Grant. Information on what the UH Mānoa is doing in emergency management and links to other emergency agencies can be found at Mānoa Campus Emergency Management Program web site.

SOEST Quicklinks

Environmental Conditions

Employment

The Dean’s Overview of the School

Dean Brian Taylor’s remarks at a reception held in his honor