49th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium
April 9-11, 2025
The 2025 Tester Symposium Logo. Original artwork by Kai Smart.
The 49th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium will be held April 9-11, 2025 in the Information Technology Center Room 105. The three-day event will include student presentations, a poster session, and a subsequent soirée. Oral presentations will consist of either 5-minute rapid-fire talks or full-length 12-minute presentations. There will also be a poster session held on the afternoon of Wednesday April 9th at the MSB and HIG open areas (first floor lanai and courtyard).
This year’s theme, Hoʻokele ʻIke: Navigating Knowledge in Life Sciences, draws inspiration from the art of navigation and the journey of discovery in the life sciences. Rooted in the Hawaiian concept of wayfinding, this theme highlights the importance of integrating diverse knowledge systems, disciplines, and methodologies to chart innovative paths in scientific research. By navigating with both traditional and modern tools, researchers can illuminate connections between community, culture, and science, fostering a shared vision for a sustainable future.
Virtual Event
The Tester Symposium has returned to a primarily in-person event. However, we recognize the importance of providing an online venue that increases accessibility for both presenters and attendees. The symposium will be a hybrid event with in-person talks broadcast via. You can join us using the following Zoom information:
Zoom Link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/98341377622pwd=VoE6FBVNnURa8Dln6WmntJvJGxKCOR.1
Meeting ID: 983 4137 7622
Password: 197963
Invited Speakers
Maile Wong
Land Acknowledgement
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Friday, April 11, 2025 at 9:00 AM
He kupa ʻo Maile Wong no ke awāwa uluwehi ʻo Mānoa, ʻo kona ʻāina hānau nō ia. He haumāna ʻimi lae ʻula ʻo ia ma ka lālā kālai lāʻau o ke Kula Nui o Mānoa.
Maile Wong was born and raised in Mānoa Valley. She is a Ph.D. student in Botany at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is interested in understanding positive plant-plant relationships and how those relationships might be cultivated to improve and integrate conservation and food systems restoration.
Dr. Mark Burgman
Opening Remarks
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 9:10 AM
My research focuses on conservation biology in all its forms, risk analysis, and expert judgement and decision-making. We explore the development and deployment of tools, procedures, and guidelines to reach better conservation decisions. Current projects deal with the widening of social inclusion in environmental decision making, and improving methods for the assessment of threatened species and ecosystems. New projects deal with testing methods for eliciting judgements from experts, and developing and testing indices to guide investments that result in nature-positive outcomes.
Dr. Daniel Wagner
Opening Keynote
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Dr. Daniel Wagner serves as the Chief Scientist for the Ocean Exploration Trust. Daniel has conducted fieldwork on deep-sea ecosystems since 2006, and has since participated in 27 multi-disciplinary research expeditions that explored deep-sea habitats throughout the Indo-Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Oceans. Daniel grew up in Ecuador, where at a young age he interned at the Galapagos National Park, an experience during which he developed a deep fascination for nature and the ocean. Daniel then moved to Hawaii, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Hawaiʻi Pacific University, as well as Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in Oceanography from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Prior to joining the Ocean Exploration Trust, Daniel worked for the NOAA’s Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in 2011-2016, where he coordinated scientific studies in support of resource management for the Monument. These included participation in over a dozen research expeditions to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, information from which was used to underpin the expansion of the Monument and make it the largest marine protected area on Earth in 2016. Daniel served as the scientific advisor to the U.S. White House Council of Environmental Quality on the Monument expansion.
In 2016, Daniel moved to the U.S. East Coast to coordinate NOAA-led efforts aimed at collecting scientific information to support the management of deep-sea ecosystems in the U.S. Atlantic, which included work for the NOAA Office Of Ocean Exploration and Research, and the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. In 2019-2022, Daniel served as the Ocean Science Advisor for Conservation International, where he led multi-partner research initiatives aimed at advancing large-scale marine conservation with a focus on areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Besides a deep love for the ocean and outdoors, Daniel is an avid runner. He resides in Honolulu with his wife and children.
Bonnie Kahapeʻa-Tanner
Closing Remarks
Friday April 12, 2025 at 3:15 PM – 4:00 PM
Bonnie Kahapeʻa-Tanner was born and raised in Kaneʻohe where her love for the ocean began. She got involved with the voyaging canoe Makaliʻi in 1995 and has been sailing ever since. In 1999, she was a watch captain on Makaliʻi’s historic voyage, E Mau e: Sailing the Master Home, which took Grand Master Navigator, Pius Mau Piailug home to his community in Micronesia. Following this life-changing experience, she helped to open Halau Ku Mana Public Charter School and launched the waʻa Kānehūnāmoku, a 29 ft. coastal sailing canoe. This waʻa was made in 2002, she was made to share, teach and practice the voyaging culture. Today the non-profit Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy teaches learners of all ages about the waʻa and connects students to college and career opportunities in ocean-based industries. She holds a BA in Hawaiian Studies, a MS in Counseling Psychology, and an MA in Transformative Learning and Change. Bonnie lives in Heʻeia, Oʻahu with her husband Halona Tanner, and their two daughters, Kaialea and Lehia.
Workshops & Special Events
Hula Class
Led by Kamakakēhau Fernandez
Wednesday, April 9 at 12:00 PM, Information Technology Center Room 105
Take a much needed movement break from a morning of talks and join us in the Information Technology Center for a hula class. Limited space available. Registration required.
Managing Time and Stress Workshop
Led by Dr. Vilmarie Báez
Thursday, April 10 at 12:30 PM, Information Technology Center Room 105
This interactive workshop offers practical strategies for managing time and reducing stress. Participants will explore techniques to enhance productivity, set realistic goals, and maintain a healthier work-life balance. Those in attendance will walk away with tools to build resilience and incorporate self-care into daily routines. Limited space available. Registration required.
Lunchtime Trivia
Led by the Trivia Subcommittee
Friday, April 11 at 12:00 PM, Information Technology Center Room 105
During this game of trivia, participants will answer questions submitted by their fellow students related to the presentations they gave during the Tester Symposium. The winning team will win a prize. Limited space available. Registration required.
Awards Banquet
Friday, April 11 at 6:00 PM, Waikīkī Aquarium
We are excited to bring back the awards banquet to the Waikīkī Aquarium where attendees will enjoy a delicious meal catered by DaSpot with live music from local band, Native Sons. Attendees can explore the amazing exhibits the Aquarium has to offer. We will announce the winners of talks, the poster session, and the art and photo contest during the banquet. Limited space available for this free event. Registration required.
Commitment to a Safe, Inclusive, and Accessible Event
The 49th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium is committed to organizing and hosting a safe, inclusive, and accessible research symposium on the UH Manoa Campus. It is our goal that every person who participates in the symposium and related events feels supported and free from any harassment or discrimination. To that end, everyone who participates in the Tester Symposium, in person and virtually, is expected to conform to the Code of Conduct included below. The link below also has instructions for reporting an incident if needed.
Additionally, we are committed to making this event as accessible as possible. The symposium will be held in-person on the first floor of the Information Technology Center, which is wheelchair/scooter accessible with accessible restrooms, and virtually via Zoom.
Code of Conduct
Registered attendees: You are subjected to our Code of Conduct if you are participating in person or in zoom. Read our Code of Conduct before joining the symposium.
Want to submit a concern pertaining to the Code of Conduct?
You can submit a concern to the School of Life Sciences using this reporting form.
Other important resources:
Campus Department of Public Safety: (808) 956-9293
Title IX and the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE): https://www.hawaii.edu/titleix/
To report a sex discrimination or gender-based violence related incidence: https://report.system.hawaii.edu/student
History of Tester Memorial Symposium
The Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium is held in honor of Professor Albert Tester who, at the time of his death in 1974, was Senior Professor of Zoology at the University of Hawaii. The faculty and students of the Department of Zoology proposed an annual symposium of student research papers as a means of honoring and continuing Dr. Tester’s lively encouragement of student research in a broad range of fields within biology. Today the Tester Memorial Symposium welcomes research from any scientific field.
Oral presentations and posters reporting original research on any aspect of science are solicited from students at the University to be presented at the Symposium each spring semester. Income from contributions to the Albert L. Tester Memorial Fund of the University of Hawaii Foundation is used to provide prizes for the three papers (15-minute talks), judged on quality, originality, and importance of research reported, as well as the quality of the public presentation. Judges include faculty members and the previous year’s student award winners. In addition, distinguished scholars are invited to participate in the Symposium and to present keynote addresses.
Past events here.