Faculty Spotlight – Page 3

UH mechanical engineering professor invents low-cost zeta potential measurement device

Sangwoo Shin, a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa assistant professor in the College of Engineering‘s mechanical engineering department, and other researchers have invented a prototype for a low-cost measurement device that can simultaneously measure the zeta potential of colloidal particles and solid surfaces. The other researchers are at Princeton University in New Jersey and Unilever R&D in the United Kingdom. …

College of Education professor elected to National Research Association Office

Margaret Maaka, a professor in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Education Department of Curriculum Studies, was elected executive committee chair of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Special Interest Groups (SIGs). In addition to this office, Maaka will serve as a member of the AERA council for three years. With the College of Education since 1986, Maaka’s …

Ralf Kaiser named American Chemical Society fellow

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Physical Chemist Ralf I. Kaiser has been elected to the 2017 class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS) for his outstanding contributions to science and the profession, and for his equally exemplary service to ACS. Kaiser is one of 65 members who will be inducted at the ACS National Meeting on August 21 …

Luke Flynn recognized as governor’s award nominee

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Luke Flynn has been selected as the university’s nominee for the Governor’s Award for Distinguished State Service as Employee of the Year. The award honors the state’s executive branch employees and managers who exemplify the highest caliber of public service and dedication to serving the people of Hawaiʻi. As the director of the Hawaiʻi Space …

Lyon Arboretum researcher honored as Endangered Species Recovery Champion

Nellie Sugii, manager of the University of Hawaiʻi Harold L. Lyon Arboretum’s Hawaiian Rare Plant Program (HRPP) was honored with a 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Champion award. This highly prestigious award is given to select U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff and partners whose leadership efforts are integral to the recovery of endangered and threatened species of …

Linguistics professor Bob Blust honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

On May 12th, 2017, Bob Blust, professor in the UHM Department of Linguistics, was awarded the Linguistics Lifetime Achievement in Research Award for his contributions to our understanding of human language, and the Austronesian language family in particular. The Vice Chancellor for Research of UH Manoa, Dr. Michael Bruno, presented Professor Blust with the award, noting the incredible quality and quantity of …

Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute researcher appointed to Public Utilities Commission

James “Jay” P. Griffin, a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute assistant researcher, has been appointed to an interim seat on the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) by Gov. David Ige. Previously, Griffin was chief of policy and research at PUC, leading staff and consultant teams in analyzing state energy policy decisions, including long-term power supply planning. “We …

Mechanical engineering professor wins competition to present at prestigious conference

Sangwoo Shin, a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa mechanical engineering assistant professor, has won the competition to present at the prestigious Falling Walls Conference in Berlin, Germany, later this year. Shin was one of 10 participants at Hawaiʻi’s inaugural Falling Walls Lab competition, hosted by the UH Mānoa Institute for Astronomy, with his presentation, “Breaking the Walls of Water Treatment.” …

Psychiatry professor honored as outstanding community mental health leader

A University of Hawaiʻi psychiatrist who helped form a statewide suicide prevention network was honored as an Outstanding Community Mental Health Leader by Mental Health America of Hawaiʻi. Jeanelle Sugimoto-Matsuda, assistant professor of the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, “built thriving partnerships on each island that continue today as she leads the Prevent Suicide Hawaiʻi Task …

UH law professor honored with property rights prize

Professor David L. Callies of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law will receive the 2017 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize in October from the William and Mary Property Rights Project. Callies will receive this prestigious prize during the project’s 14th annual conference to be held at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia, October 12–13. Callies, a prolific scholar whose work explores …