The Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community.

Sloan Coats

Sloan Coats is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences and an affiliate of the International Pacific Research Center at the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. Coats joined 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 in November 2019, after holding postdoctoral and positions at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, as well as faculty roles at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

His research combines advanced statistical techniques, climate models and both observed and paleoclimatic data to investigate climate variability and change across timescales. A key aspect of Coats鈥檚 work is its interdisciplinary nature, reflected in his contributions to diverse fields such as glaciology and seismology.

In addition to his research, Coats is a passionate advocate for the broader research community at 糖心Vlog官方. He co-directs the NSF-funded Earth Sciences on Volcanic Islands Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, which provides undergraduate students with hands-on research experience in Earth sciences.

Matthieu Dubarry

Matthieu Dubarry is an associate researcher at the Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) in the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. With more than 20 years of experience in renewable energy, he specializes in lithium-ion battery research.

He joined HNEI in 2005 as a postdoctoral fellow, analyzing the usage data from a fleet of electric vehicles. He was appointed to the faculty in 2010, where he has focused on battery testing, modeling and simulation.

Since 2014, Dubarry has led his own research group, supported by funding from federal agencies and industry partners. He is recognized for pioneering data-driven techniques to non-destructively assess lithium-ion battery degradation.

His work has produced a suite of software tools for predicting battery lifespan at both the cell and pack levels. His diagnostic model, ʻalawa鈥攏amed for the Hawaiian word meaning “to diagnose with insight鈥濃�攈as earned global recognition and is used by universities and companies around the world.

Rick Kazman

Rick Kazman is the Danny and Elsa Lui Distinguished Professor of Information Technology Management at the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Shidler College of Business. His research focuses on software architecture, analysis tools and technical debt. He helped develop several influential methods and tools, including the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method, Titan and DV8, which are widely used to evaluate and improve the structure and maintainability of software systems.

Kazman has authored more than 250 publications, holds three patents and has written nine books, including Software Architecture in Practice, Technical Debt: How to Find It and Fix It and Designing Software Architectures: A Practical Approach. His work has been widely adopted by Fortune 1000 companies and cited more than 30,000 times, according to Google Scholar.

A leading figure in his field, Kazman currently serves on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society鈥檚 Board of Governors. His contributions continue to shape industry best practices and advance the discipline of software engineering.

The University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 celebrated the exceptional achievements of its faculty, staff and students at the 2025 , on April 28 at Kennedy Theatre.

糖心Vlog官方 President Wendy Hensel, 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Vice Provost for Academic Excellence Laura Lyons and Board of Regents Vice Chair Laurie Tochiki recognized this year鈥檚 honorees for their outstanding accomplishments.

A video recording of the event will be available on the 糖心Vlog官方 Manoa Awards page at a later date.

Congratulations to all our winners!

2025 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Awards winners

• Mapuana C.K. Antonio, associate professor, public health
• Matthew F. Cain, associate professor, chemistry
• Elisabeth Mehana Makaʻinaʻi, instructor, Hawaiian studies
• Hannah Manshel, assistant professor, English
• Masaru Mito, instructor, Japanese language
• Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, associate professor, political science

• Sloan Coats, assistant professor, Earth sciences
• Matthieu Dubarry, associate researcher, Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute
• Rick Kazman, professor, information technology management

• Margaret Colleen Rost-Banik, instructor, sociology
• Sara Maaria Saastamoinen, PhD student, political science

• Maya Soetoro-Ng, associate specialist, Matsunaga Institute for Peace

• Dean Domingo, instructor, Ilokano language
• Chad Edward Miller, specialist, teacher education
• You-il (Chris) Park, associate professor, accounting
• Melissa Renae Price, associate professor, wildlife management
• Jennifer D.S. Griswold, professor, atmospheric sciences
• Kaori Tamura, associate professor, kinesiology and rehabilitation science

• Seung Yang, assistant director, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
• John Gestrich, carpentry shops manager, Campus Operations and Facilities
• Marla Fergerstrom, farm manager, College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resilience
• Jennifer Frank, physician, University Health Services 惭腻苍辞补

• Michele Inouchi, administrative officer, Office of the Vice Provost for Student Success
• Roy Tom, machinist, Department of Physics and Astronomy

• Michael Liu, astronomer, Institute for Astronomy

• Kenny Kaʻaiakamanu-Quibilan, assistant faculty specialist, Department of Information & Computer Sciences

• Academic & Student Affairs Office, College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resilience
  (Kayden Iwasaki, Irene Morrow, Maile Sing and Jessica Strenstrom)

• Sladjana Prišić, associate professor, microbiology
• Pei-Ling Kao, associate professor, dance

• Aláine Fiona Lee, undergraduate student, astrophysics
• Kazuumi Fujioka, PhD candidate, chemistry
• Nick Saunders, PhD candidate, astronomy

• Shayla Spotkaeff, undergraduate research assistant, Center for Oral History

Awardees were selected following careful review by the various awards committees, based on nominations and supporting materials across teaching, research, mentoring and service. Mahalo to all who participated in the selection process.

The Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community.

Benjamin Shappee

Benjamin Shappee is an astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy. He specializes in transients and time-domain astronomy. Shappee is a founding member of one of the most successful time-domain projects, the All-Sky Automated Survey for Super-Novae (ASAS–SN), which uses telescopes around the globe to survey the entire sky daily.

The ASAS–SN survey paper (Shappee et al. 2014) is the 50th most-cited paper in astronomy in the past decade. Shappee is co-principal investigator of the largest near-infrared supernova survey to date, the Hawaiʻi Supernova Flows, using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope on Maunakea.

He and his group have made important contributions to our understanding of the origins of supernovae (exploding stars), stellar flares with potential impact on the habitability of nearby planets, and outbursts from supermassive black holes. ASAS–SN found the most luminous supernova yet discovered (ASASSN-15lh). Shappee was also part of the team that discovered the first and only counterpart to gravitational wave source from the merger of two neutron stars. He has authored 275 publications and has 20,000 citations.

Malte Stuecker

Malte Stuecker is an assistant professor in oceanography at the International Pacific Research Center in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. Stuecker鈥檚 research is on climate variability and climate change in the past, present and future.

Much of his work is centered on the Pacific Ocean and phenomena such as the El Ni帽o-Southern Oscillation. Stuecker earned a PhD in meteorology from 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa in 2015. He returned to 糖心Vlog官方 as faculty in 2020, and was previously an assistant project leader/research professor at the IBS Center for Climate Physics in South Korea.

Stuecker received the IAPSO Early Career Scientist Medal in Physical Oceanography in 2023, the Kamide Lecture Award from the AOGS Atmospheric Sciences section in 2020, and the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the EGU Climate: Past, Present & Future division in 2016. In 2018, he was a Future Leaders Program Fellow of the Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto (Japan), and in 2022 he received an NSF CAREER Award.

Donald Womack

Donald Reid Womack is a professor of music in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Arts, Languages & Letters. A faculty member at 糖心Vlog官方 since 1994, Womack chairs the music department, and is faculty in Japanese and Korean Studies.

He is the composer of more than 100 original works, which have been performed and broadcast in 25 countries and recorded on more than a dozen releases in the U.S., Korea and Japan. Ensembles around the globe have performed his works, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Russia Ulan Ude Symphony, Hawaii Symphony, National Orchestra of Korea, among many others.

Womack is the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, two Fulbright Fellowships, two Artist Fellowships from the State of Hawaiʻi, and won numerous other national and international competitions. Widely recognized as a leader in intercultural composition, he integrates East Asian and western instruments. He has lectured on his work in Korea, Taiwan and Japan, and taught as visiting faculty at Seoul National University.

A group of 2023 University of Hawaiʻi 惭腻苍辞补 Award winners were honored on September 23 during the 糖心Vlog官方 football game against New Mexico State at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. They came onto the field after the first quarter and received a round of applause from the more than 10,000 fans in attendance.

“It is something I will never forget and am so glad my family was there to be a part of it,” said Ken Chambers, an astronomer who received the . “It was wonderful to have the 糖心Vlog官方 ohana take a moment during a hard fought game to shout out support for teaching and research.”

Fellow awardee Tyler Ray agreed. The assistant professor received the .

“It is amazing to be here with such an incredible group of people, just being surrounded by all of the students and fans,” said Ray. “It is just a wonderful experience.”

“And best of all, the Rainbow Warriors got the win at the last moment,” added Chambers.

The award is given annually to faculty, staff, and students for excellence in teaching, research and service.

“This is an amazing group of outstanding faculty, staff and students and it was wonderful to be able to honor them in front of thousands of 糖心Vlog官方 fans,” said 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner, who escorted the group onto the field to personally congratulate them. “糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 is one of the best universities in the world and it’s because of individuals like these going above and beyond each and every day.”

Of the 30 award recipients, seven were able to attend: Richard C. Chen, Monica C. LaBriola, Manca Sustarsic, Kevin Nute, Wendy Kawabata, Chambers and Ray.

The hosted by Lassner and 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Provost Michael Bruno was held on May 1, at Kennedy Theatre.

Read more about the 2023 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Award winners.

The Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community.

Kenneth C. Chambers

Kenneth C. Chambers is an astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy and principal investigator and founding director of the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) located on Haleakal膩. He and the Pan-STARRS team have had a huge impact on astronomy with discoveries from the solar system to cosmology. These include thousands of near-Earth asteroids, hundreds of Kuiper belt objects, dozens of comets and 驶Oumuamua—the first interstellar object scientists have tracked.

By surveying the sky repeatedly, they discovered new classes of super-luminous and under-luminous supernovae, and the first convincing case of a tidally disrupted star spiraling into a supermassive black hole. They also discovered billions of new galaxies providing clues to the large-scale structure of the universe.

Chambers and his team made crucial measurements of the first binary neutron star merger found with gravity waves, contributing proof that these events are the origin of the heavy elements. He has authored 250 publications with 28,000 citations. Chambers is a 1999 recipient of the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching.

Jeffrey Drazen

Jeffrey Drazen is a professor in the Department of Oceanography in the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. He joined the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 faculty in 2004. Drazen is recognized internationally for his research on food-webs and communities of the open ocean and deep sea, particularly fishes.

His work and that of his students and postdocs has helped elucidate the energetic strategies of deep-sea fishes, identified important pathways in deep-sea food webs and explored the ecology of hadal trenches, the deepest ecosystem on earth. His research has helped evaluate the environmental risks of deep-sea mining, a topic of critical interest as companies and countries look to the ocean to supply battery metals needed for the 鈥済reen transition.鈥�

Drazen has authored and co-authored more than 130 scientific articles and book chapters, received more than $20 million in research grants and has participated in more than 60 research cruises with more than 1,000 days at sea, often as chief scientist.

Shadia Rifai Habbal

Shadia Rifai Habbal is a professor of astronomy at the Institute for Astronomy. She joined the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 faculty in 2005 and is best known for her seminal contributions to the field of solar and heliospheric physics, which encompasses the outer atmosphere of the Sun, the solar corona and its expansion as the solar wind into interplanetary space.

Habbal is recognized for her scientific insight to capitalize on the unique observing opportunities available during total solar eclipses. She established the Solar Wind Sherpas, the largest international team to carry out eclipse observations. She and her team have made game changing discoveries by unraveling the solar wind that originates throughout the corona from sources at 1.2 million degrees. The processes that control that temperature remain unknown.

These observations are enabling the identification of processes responsible for the corona reaching temperatures at least three orders of magnitude larger than that of the solar surface, and for exploring the origin of the frequent explosions in the corona which travel into interplanetary space with detrimental consequences for Earth鈥檚 satellites and power grids.

The University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 will celebrate 30 of its finest faculty, staff and students with various teaching, research and service awards at the 2023 惭腻苍辞补 Awards Ceremony.

The annual awards ceremony will be held Monday, May 1 at 3:30 p.m. at Kennedy Theatre.

糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner and 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Provost Michael Bruno, along with Board of Regents Chair Randy Moore will honor the award recipients and celebrate the accomplishments of these individuals. .

2023 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Awards winners

• Rosanna ʻAnolani Alegado, associate professor, oceanography
• Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker, associate professor, theatre and dance
• Richard Chen, associate professor, law
• Monica LaBriola, assistant professor, history
• Summer Puanani Maunakea, assistant professor, curriculum studies
• Alexander Stokes, assistant professor, cell and molecular biology

• Kenneth Chambers, astronomer, astronomy
• Jeffrey Drazen, professor, oceanography
• Shadia Habbal, astronomer/faculty chair, astronomy

• E. Kalikoaloha Martin Jr., instructor, Hawaiian language

• Manca Sustarsic, PhD candidate, educational foundations

• Chet-Yeng Loong, professor, music

• Mary Shin Kim, associate professor, Korean linguistics
• Hannah-Hanh Nguyen, associate professor, management
• Kevin Nute, professor, architecture
• Jayson Parba, instructor, Filipino language and culture
• Tyler Ray, assistant professor, mechanical engineering
• Jamie Simpson Steele, professor, education

• Maggie McGehee, university scheduler, Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Excellence
• Siausage (Sonny) Ugaitafa, equipment operator, Campus Operations
• Elaine Nakahashi, secretary, Department of Anthropology
• Thomas Tsutsumoto, junior specialist, 惭腻苍辞补 Career Center

• Winona Lee, associate professor/director, John A. Burns School of Medicine

• Kathryn Braun, professor, public health

• Siobh谩n N铆 Dhonacha, faculty specialist/academic advisor, Honors Program

• Wendy Kawabata, professor, art and art history
• Craig Nelson, associate researcher, oceanography

• Jason Hinkle, PhD candidate, astronomy
• Xiaojie (Sherry) Xu, PhD candidate, mechanical engineering

• Binierose Cacho, special programs coordinator, Office of Enrollment Management

The Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community. Brian N. Popp, Rui Sun and Xudong Sun received the 2022 award.

Brian N. Popp, 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补

Brian N. Popp is a professor of Earth sciences in the . He joined the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 faculty in 1990 and is best known for his contributions to the field of stable isotope biogeochemistry.

He published a landmark series of papers on the fractionation of carbon isotopes by marine microalgae, which allowed estimates of ancient atmospheric CO2 levels. These results led to honors, including the Geochemical Society Best Paper of the Year award and his election as a Geochemistry Fellow within the European Association of Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society.

Popp contributed significantly to the demonstration that archaea are largely responsible for ammonia oxidation in the marine environment and that rates of archaeal ammonia oxidation are sensitive to small changes in ocean pH that will occur in a future acidifying ocean. His high productivity and impact are demonstrated by his more than 165 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. His career publications have amassed more than 15,000 citations.

Rui Sun, 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补

Rui Sun is an assistant professor of chemistry in the . Sun’s research focuses on developing computational models and simulations to tackle chemical and biophysical problems that are outstanding challenges to human health and the environment. Such efforts include unraveling mechanisms of atmospheric chemical reactions, designing alternative ionic liquid fuels, investigating next-generation energetic materials, and understanding the role that cell membranes play in various diseases, to name a few.

As an early career scientist, Sun has published 40 peer-reviewed scientific literature, some of which have been reported by news outlets such as Vice, Nature and Chemical & Engineering News.

Currently supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and Eli Lilly and Company, Sun has received research grants totaling nearly $2 million since joining 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 in the fall of 2017. He received the NSF CAREER award in 2022.

Xudong Sun, 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补

Xudong Sun is an assistant astronomer in the . His research is centered on the solar magnetic fields, with an extension to other low-mass stars.

Magnetic fields play a fundamental role in regulating the dynamic plasma processes such as flares and coronal mass ejections; they can significantly influence near-Earth space weather as well as exoplanetary habitability. He is currently leading a collaborative National Science Foundation project to develop deep learning data-analysis models for the new Inouye Solar Telescope on Haleakal膩.

Sun is a recipient of the 2019 NSF CAREER Award, a science working group member for the Inouye Solar Telescope, and a science team member of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager aboard NASA鈥檚 Solar Dynamics Observatory. He earned a PhD in physics from Stanford University, and a BS degree in Earth and space sciences from the University of Science and Technology of China.

The University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 recognized its finest faculty, staff and students with various teaching, research and service awards at its first in-person 惭腻苍辞补 Awards Ceremony since 2019.

The 2022 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Awards Ceremony was held on Monday, May 2 at 3:30 p.m. at Kennedy Theatre.

President David Lassner and Provost Michael Bruno honored the , and awardees and celebrate the accomplishments of these individuals. .

During the ceremony, there was also be a special recognition of the 糖心Vlog官方 COVID-19 Health and Well-Being Working Group and Reinhold Penner of the 糖心Vlog官方 Cancer Center for their COVID-19 campus efforts.

Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News about our 2020 and 2021 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Award winners.

2022 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Awards winners

• Troy J.H. Andrade, associate professor, law
• Daniel Harris-McCoy, associate professor, classics
• Peiling Kao, associate professor, theatre and dance
• Kyra Anne Len, associate professor, pediatrics
• Bridget Smith-Konter, professor, Earth sciences
• Wei Zhang, professor, sociology

• Brian Popp, professor, Earth sciences
• Rui Sun, assistant professor, chemistry
• Xudong Sun, assistant astronomer, astronomy

• Justin W. Walguarnery, assistant professor, biology

• Hoa Le, graduate teaching assistant, second languages studies

• Denise Antolini, professor, law

• Jennifer Blackwell, assistant professor, music
• Marguerite A. Butler, professor, biology
• Stephanie Furuta, associate specialist, Institute for Teacher Education
• Scott Lozanoff, professor, anatomy, biochemistry and physiology
• Seungoh Paek, associate professor, learning design and technology
• Philip Williams, professor and chair, chemistry

• Herman Ayers, janitor, Buildings and Grounds Management
• Kenton Harsch, director/BA coordinator, English Language Institute
• Tyler Kitagawa, janitor, Buildings and Grounds Management
• Steven Labrash, assistant specialist, anatomy, biochemistry and physiology

• E. Brooke Chapman de Sousa, associate professor, Institute for Teacher Education

• Henrietta Dulai, professor, Earth sciences

• Jill Nakatsu, director of student services, College of Engineering

• Tyler Ray, assistant professor, mechanical engineering
• Stephanie Teves, assistant professor/undergraduate advisor, Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

• Ashley Chontos, PhD candidate, astronomy
• Samantha Keaulana-Scott, PhD candidate, public health
• Geetika Patwardhan, bachelor鈥檚 candidate, molecular and cell biology

• Herman H. Lau, student assistant, General Education Office

The Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community. Bruce F. Houghton, Fei-Fei Jin and Angelicque E. White received the 2021 awards.

Bruce F. Houghton, 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa

Bruce F. Houghton is the Gordon A. Macdonald Professor of volcanology in the 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa . He is also 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚 state volcanologist and science director for the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa.

His research specialty, and that of his students and postdoctoral fellows, is the eruption dynamics of explosive eruptions, particularly at Kīlauea and Stromboli volcanoes. Houghton played a leading role in collaboration with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in the science response during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea. He works across the interface between volcanoes and society, collaborating with world leading disaster psychologists and sociologists.

He has published 267 papers in international journals, including four papers in Nature in the first four months of 2021, and received 13,700 citations. Described by his colleagues as a “giant of volcanology,” Houghton was a 2017 recipient of the highest accolade from the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth鈥檚 Interior, the Thorarinsson Medal, as only the ninth recipient of the medal in the 100-year history of the association.

Fei-Fei Jin, 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa

Fei-Fei Jin is a 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa professor of atmospheric sciences in the . He made seminal contributions to advance our understanding of many important climate phenomena, including EI Nino-Southern Oscillation, tropical climate variability, and large-scale atmosphere and ocean circulation variability.

During his 28 years with the university, he brought in $6 million in grants and advised several dozen PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. He has published 240 peer-reviewed papers, with more than 24,000 citations. In 2020, he was recognized as Web of Science鈥檚 Highly Cited Researcher, ranking in the top 1% of citations in the field.

Jin has also received a number of prestigious honors, including his elections as a fellow of American Geophysical Union, a fellow of American Meteorological Society (AMS) and recipient of AMS Sverdrup Gold medal. His service to the research community at large include serving as a co-convener of sessions in the American Geophysical Union, European Geosciences Union and serving as co-chair for Science Advisory Committee of Open Lab of Nation Climate Center of China.

Angelicque E. White, 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa

Angelicque E. White is an associate professor of oceanography in the 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa . She joined 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa鈥檚 Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education in 2018. White鈥檚 research focuses on plankton biodiversity, productivity and elemental cycling in upper ocean ecosystems.

She is currently the lead principal investigator for the Hawaiʻi Ocean Time-series (HOT) program and is passionate about spreading the gospel of HOT and the need for sustained ocean observations. Her 2020 TED talk at the National Academy of Sciences was deemed one of the 20 most popular TED talks in 2020.

White has participated in more than 40 oceanographic research expeditions to sites spanning the subtropics to the Antarctic, received research grants totaling over $18 million, and published nearly 80 articles in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. She was a recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan fellowship, the American Geophysical Union Ocean Sciences Early Career Award, and the Association of the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Yentsch-Schindler Early Career Award.

Each year, the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 honors the leadership and service of its faculty, staff and students committed to enhancing the university鈥檚 mission of excellence. The annual in-person ceremony has been transformed for another year due to the ongoing pandemic. 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner addressed the 2021 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Awards recipients in a video message. Congratulations to all our awards winners!

2021 惭腻苍辞补 Awards winners

Board of Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Teaching

The Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Teaching is awarded by the Board of Regents as tribute to faculty members who exhibit an extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, teaching effectiveness and creativity and personal values that benefit students.

• Mark Branner, associate professor,
• Jane J. Chung-Do, associate professor,
• Derrick Higginbotham, associate professor, College of Arts, Languages & Letters
• Wendy K. Meguro, assistant professor,
• Mary Mostafanezhad, associate professor,
• Scott K. Rowland, specialist,

Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Research

The Regents鈥� Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community.

• Bruce Houghton, professor, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology
• Fei-Fei Jin, professor, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology
• Angelicque White, associate professor, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology

The Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

The Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for a faculty and a graduate assistant recognizes dedication and demonstrated excellence as teachers of undergraduate students. It was established as a memorial to the late Frances Davis, who taught mathematics at Leeward Community College and 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 for 19 years.

• A Zachary Trimble, associate professor,

Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Graduate Teaching Assistants

• Heewon Kwon, PhD candidate, College of Social Sciences

Robert W. Clopton Award for Distinguished Service to the Community

The Robert W. Clopton Award for Distinguished Community Service recognizes a 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 faculty member for playing a socially significant role by applying intellectual leadership and academic expertise to the improvement of the community. The award was established as a memorial to longtime 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 College of Education Professor Robert Clopton and first awarded in 1977.

• Thomas E. Jackson, specialist, College of Arts, Languages & Letters

Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching

The Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching recognizes 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 faculty members who have made significant contributions to teaching and student learning.

• Kasey Barton, associate professor,
• Sonia Ghumman, associate professor,
• Betsy Gilliland, associate professor, College of Arts, Languages & Letters
• Kristi Govella, assistant professor, College of Arts, Languages & Letters
• Pratibha Nerurkar, associate professor,
• Prisic Sladjana, associate professor, College of Natural Sciences

Presidential Award for Outstanding Service

The Presidential Award for Outstanding Service honors a 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 staff member who demonstrates outstanding work performance, service and leadership.

• Barbara Bruno, specialist,
• Yosuke Jo, maintenance and repair supervisor,
• Lisa Kam, secretary, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
• Lyn Nakagawa, head athletic trainer,

Dr. Amefil “Amy” Agbayani Faculty Diversity Enhancement Award

The Dr. Amefil “Amy” Agbayani Faculty Diversity Enhancement Award from the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Commission on Inclusion and Diversity recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to enhancing diversity. The award was established to recognize Agbayani鈥檚 lifetime commitment to diversity and social justice in Hawaiʻi. For more than 40 years, she served as the founder and director of the Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity.

• Jennifer Engels, research affiliate, Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology

Peter V. Garrod Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award

Established by the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Graduate Division in 2005, the Peter V. Garrod Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award allows graduate students to nominate faculty for excellent mentoring, one of the foundations of outstanding graduate education.

• Lois Yamauchi, professor, College of Education and graduate chair,

Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research & Creative Work

The Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research and Creative Work was created in 2020 by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补. The award recognizes up to two tenured/tenure-track faculty mentors each academic year (one from a STEM discipline, and one from a non-STEM discipline) who have shown dedicated and sustained excellence in faculty mentoring of undergraduate students in their research and creative work endeavors.

• Lisette Marie Flanary, associate professor,
• Megan Porter, associate professor, School of Life Sciences

Outstanding Academic Advisor and Academic Unit of the Year Award

The Pakela and ʻOikela Awards are presented by the Council of Academic Advisors which recognizes an individual or unit who, over the past two years, has demonstrated excellence and/or innovation in advising, and/or has made a significant contribution to the advising community.

Pakela Award—K膿hau Newhouse, Maui program coordinator/transfer specialist,

ʻOikela Award—

Student Excellence in Research Award

The Student Excellence in Research Award is awarded by the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research in recognition of outstanding scholarly research endeavors by students while they pursue a degree at the doctoral, master鈥檚 or bachelor鈥檚 level.

• Travis Berger, PhD candidate,
• Viet Sang Doan, MS candidate, College of Engineering
• Victor Kilonzo, BS candidate, and

Student Employee of the Year Award

The Student Employee of the Year Program was created in 1986 by the 惭腻苍辞补 Career Center to recognize and highlight the achievements and contributions of student employees on the 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 campus.

• Kaylie Hayashida, university scheduler assistant,

Related 糖心Vlog官方 News story: 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 student employee critical to campus schedule, April 26, 2021

View President Lassner鈥檚 message and read more about the winners on the website.