Oceana Francis

Bio

Dr. Oceana Puananilei Francis, P.E., is a Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering (CEE) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, jointly appointed with the Sea Grant College Program. A licensed engineer in Hawaiʻi and Alaska, she has over two decades of experience in Arctic and Pacific regions, specializing in coastal resilience, extreme environments, and sustainable infrastructure. Dr. Francis has collaboratively led 28 research projects totaling $12.3 million with NSF, DOT, DLNR, NOAA, NFWF, and USACE and has authored more than 110 publications. Her research and teaching span across different disciplines and departments, where she has been promoting healthy coastal ecosystems (e.g. reinstating Hawaiian fishponds, coral reef health, sea ice impacts to northern communities) and creating sustainable local communities in Hawaii and Alaska. In addition to teaching many required and technical classes in CEE, she's developed and taught three new courses in coastal adaptation and sustainability and has chaired/committeed over 50 graduate students at UH.