Kevin Michael Kelly, 66, passed away peacefully at home in Kailua, Oʻahu on July 30, 2025 after a long battle against cancer. Kelly was an integral part of the University of Hawaiʻi for more than three decades, contributing his vision, leadership and good humor to marine technology, maritime security and research administration.

Kelly attended SMU in Dallas and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1982 with a bachelor of science in geology. He went on to study oceanography at San Diego State University. Then, in a move that would determine the course of Kelly鈥檚 life, one of his professors recommended him to a colleague at 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa. Kelly accepted the offer in Hawaiʻi, earning a master of science in oceanography in 1988.

Over the next three decades Kelly transitioned into a highly successful career at 糖心Vlog官方, including as the managing director of the . Kelly鈥檚 wide-ranging work included business development for marine technology, maritime security, the administration and management of large scientific grants, and liaising with legislative bodies and government agencies.

“Many of us knew Kevin not only for his professional excellence but also for his warmth, curiosity, and kindness,” said (SOEST) Dean Chip Fletcher. “He inspired and connected people wherever he went—whether in the field, at a meeting, or over a shared laugh.”

After retiring from the university in 2020, Kelly devoted himself to the North Shore Economic Vitality Partnership, continuing his lifelong commitment to innovation and community. He recognized the need to help area residents to become more significant in the state鈥檚 economy. The North Shore Economic Vitality Partnership is a non-profit dedicated to promoting economic growth from within the region using community-driven solutions. Today it is a thriving organization, leading the effort to document and improve the region鈥檚 entire food system to maintain agriculture as an economic pillar in the region鈥檚 economy.

His impact was as wide-ranging as it was lasting, and he will be deeply missed by many, including his wife, family and many friends.

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More than 35 University of Hawaiʻi students from three campuses (糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补, 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo and 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College) gained hands-on experience tackling real-world challenges at the , held April 4–6, at 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补.

Participants formed interdisciplinary teams to build data-driven solutions using Google Cloud AI tools, including Vertex AI. Five challenge topics pushed students to apply diverse skills toward local and statewide resilience efforts, such as climate data visualization, educational content generation, conversational AI and immersive technology for science communication.

The first-place team, Untrained Parameters, created the Hawaiʻi Climate Explorer—an interactive web app that visualizes temperature and rainfall data from the Hawaiʻi Climate Data Portal, a project led by 糖心Vlog官方 experts. The team included PhD students Federica Chiti and Dhvanil Desai (), Fahim Yasir (), Gerardo Rivera Tello (), and master’s student Yada Ponpittayalert ().

“This was an incredible experience, highlighting the potential of large language models (a type of AI-trained model) for multimodal applications, even within a limited prototype developed in just three days,” said Rivera Tello.

BruhMode earned second place with GenEDU, an AI-powered educational content generator. Third place was awarded to Kani, developers of a climate-focused chatbot. TurtleyAwesome, won the Visualization Challenge with Sheldon the Turtle, a 3D AI-powered museum-style guide for climate data.

Prizes ranged from MacBook laptops and iPads to AR glasses and Google Cloud Platform credits.

Hosted by 糖心Vlog官方 System Information Technology Services (ITS), and , the three-day event was led by the ITS Research Cyberinfrastructure team and supported by the National Science Foundation-sponsored , , Google Cloud and the Burwood Group, Inc.

Mentors from ITS, the Burwood Group, and Hawaiʻi Mesonet and Change Hawaiʻi supported students throughout the hackathon, offering technical guidance and real-world insights.

“This hackathon gave students an incredible opportunity to apply cutting-edge AI tools to real-world challenges that directly impact Hawaiʻi,” said 糖心Vlog官方 ITS Director of Research Cyberinfrastructure Sean Cleveland, who led the event and also served as a program mentor. “Their creativity, teamwork and passion for innovation were truly inspiring to witness.”

The University of 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚 (HIDSI) has played a key role in the state鈥檚 latest effort to combat the opioid crisis. In collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH), HIDSI developed a groundbreaking online platform to track and manage the allocation of $150 million in opioid settlement funds.

Funds from the settlement are directed to help with addiction recovery treatment, addiction prevention and the distribution of Naloxone, a life-saving medication used to reverse opioid overdoses.

The (OSP) website, launched in early 2024, enhances public transparency by offering interactive data dashboards that visualize key information. These dashboards provide insights into opioid-related trends, settlement fund distribution and the statewide availability of Naloxone.

“HIDSI was honored to collaborate with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health on this vital project,” said Sean Cleveland, Information Technology Services acting director of research cyberinfrastructure. “The Opioid Settlement Project dashboard will be a crucial tool as Hawaiʻi addresses the opioid crisis in the state.”

Data-driven transparency

The OSP website features three primary dashboards:

• Opioid Overdose Data Dashboard—Tracks overdose-related statistics, including fatalities and emergency room visits.
• Opioid Settlement Fund Data Dashboard—Details how 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚 settlement funds are allocated across programs.
• Naloxone Statewide Distributions Data Dashboard—Displays data on the distribution of Naloxone across the islands.

Ensuring effective fund use

Under the settlement agreement, 85% of the funds are managed by the state, while 15% are directed by counties. The Hawaiʻi Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee oversees the allocation process to ensure funds are used effectively for treatment, harm reduction and prevention initiatives.

This latest initiative underscores HIDSI鈥檚 ongoing commitment to leveraging data science for public health advancements.

Two students, Cherryle Heu and Roderick “RJ” Tabalba, have clinched the grand prize in the (AGU) . Their user-friendly data visualization tool is aiding Hawaiʻi ranchers in navigating the challenges of drought.

Heu, a master’s student in the and Tabalba a PhD student in the , created an easy-to-use customizable dashboard, which visualizes rainfall and temperature data from the (HCDP).

Judges of the competition gave glowing reviews including, “This high-quality submission is worthy of the Visualization award, as the tool has impressive interactive components, enabling users to build bespoke dashboards to analyze rainfall and air temperature.”

The HCDP was developed as a part of the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR Change Hawaiʻi project to provide the state with high-quality reliable climate data and information.

“The HCDP is a groundbreaking website and made this data available to the public. It’s publicly available for anyone to see and access,” said Heu. “The tool that RJ has developed allows anyone to access and manipulate a wealth of real-time data and create it into information they need for themselves whether they are ranchers, conservationists, forecasters or researchers.”

Power of collaboration

Collaboration and co-creation were essential at every stage of this project. Working closely with resource managers in collaboration with the , Heu and others as a part of the stewardship team helped to facilitate knowledge exchange and co-production of drought data and products based on community needs.

The power of collaboration was further demonstrated by Heu and Tabalba鈥檚 multidisciplinary approach that combined geoscience and computer science to develop their data visualization tool.

“I took the opportunity to enter this competition with another student, Cherryle, who was already using the HCDP. It was a good match-up. She had the knowledge, use cases and background to create tools,” said Tabalba. “Cherryle really filled in that gap of knowledge. Climate is different in Hawaiʻi, it might be raining in one area and not raining in the next. It really motivates the need that farmers need to have their custom-made dashboard.”

Presenting to NASA

Heu and Tabalba were awarded a total of $6,000 to attend this year’s AGU Annual Meeting in December in San Francisco and to support additional professional development activities. They will also have the opportunity for exclusive career advice and support from a professional career consultant and to present their grand prize winning project to NASA and AGU in December and at AGU headquarters in Washington, D.C. in early 2024.

Tabalba looks forward to graduating in 2024 and working in industry with a top IT company. He plans to take the skills he learned by receiving feedback from others to gain new perspectives and elevate his own work. Heu, who finds her field extremely fulfilling, plans to complete her degree and continue creating impactful work that others find useful.

—By Maria Dumanlang

For the second consecutive year, the University of Hawaiʻi has set a record in extramural funding at $515.9 million for fiscal year 2023 (FY2023), $10.9 million more over the previous record of $505 million set in FY2022.

, the flagship campus of 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 10 campus system, led the extramural award amounts this year with $342.7 million. The 糖心Vlog官方 System brought in $117.7 million, totaled $33.7 million, received $17.8 million and totaled $4 million.

“We are extremely proud of our back-to-back record hauls in extramural funding, despite having to deal with a myriad of challenges due to the recent pandemic and its lingering after-effects on the world economy and our funders,” said 糖心Vlog官方 Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos. “The accolades must be given to our faculty, staff and graduate students for their hard work and dedication to the 糖心Vlog官方 research enterprise and to the state of Hawaiʻi.”

Extramural funding is external investments from governmental agencies such as the federal government, industry and non-profit organizations that support research and training activities conducted by university faculty and staff. Extramural projects support research and innovation that help to increase knowledge and provide solutions to improve quality of life.

“Every dollar invested by one of our extramural sponsors is a vote of confidence that 糖心Vlog官方 faculty, staff and students are creating a better future for Hawaiʻi and the world,” said 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner. “This includes everything from climate change, resilience, water quality and energy solutions to addressing health disparities, educational inequities, feeding our population, and training Hawaiʻi‘s people for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”

Several examples of 糖心Vlog官方 programs that attracted the attention of funders:

• The Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges was awarded $16.3 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the “Resilient Hawaiʻi: Good Jobs Challenge” initiative that provides employer-driven training in living-wage jobs to individuals whose employment was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• The received $5.5 million from NASA to continue a wide area survey of Near Earth Objects at its Pan-STARRS observatory on Haleakal膩, Maui. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• The was awarded $4.5 million, as part of a five-year $23 million grant from the National Institutes for Health (NIH) for Ola HAWAII, a multidisciplinary research center that addresses health disparities in underserved, multiethnic populations in Hawaiʻi. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.



• 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 received $4 million, as part of a five-year $20 million grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF), to integrate climate and data science research under its “Change HI” initiative. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• The received $3.6 million from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to continue its research and maintenance support of the U.S. Navy鈥檚 Wave Energy Test Site in Kāneʻohe Bay. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.



• ONR awarded 糖心Vlog官方 a $2.4 million grant to partner with the University of Alaska and the University of Rhode Island to develop and advance energy, marine and other blue economy technologies and opportunities through the . Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• NIH awarded $2.4 million to the to continue its important Multiethnic Cohort Study. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.



• was awarded $2 million of a $3.5 million grant by NSF鈥檚 Tribal Colleges and Universities Program to establish its Kiaʻi Loko Center for Limu Research. The center focuses on applying traditional Native Hawaiian knowledge alongside Western scientific methods to study limu (algae) and traditional Hawaiian fishponds. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 (SOEST) was awarded $3 million by ONR to map flood risks related to sea-level rise in Hawaiʻi.
• The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded SOEST and the another $1.5 million increment of a five-year, $25 million project to develop an engineered coral reef system to protect coastlines from flooding, erosion and storm damage. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• The received $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to restore ancestral and cultural practices to improve health equity among Native Hawaiians and NHPI communities.
• 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo received $1.1 million from the U.S. Department of Education for its E Hoi I Ke Kumu program to address the Hawaiian language immersion teacher shortage in the state.
• 糖心Vlog官方 was awarded a $1 million NSF Engines Development Award to establish its Climate-Resilient Food Innovation Network that will serve as a hub for Hawaiʻi and U.S-affiliated Pacific Islands to develop collaborative, food innovation solutions driven by Indigenous knowledge systems and modern technology. 糖心Vlog官方 could be eligible for another award of up to $160 million. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu received a $944,307 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop its He Paepae Aloha curriculum to increase Native Hawaiian participation and completion of post-secondary education through the incorporation of Native Hawaiian traditions and culture.

Interested in finding climate change solutions using cutting edge-technology? Apply for the 2023 Change HI Summer Research Program taking place at the , May 22–June 30. The funded research opportunity, supported by the 糖心Vlog官方 EPSCoR Change HI program, is open to undergraduate students of all majors enrolled in the 糖心Vlog官方 system.

Program participants will work with artificial intelligence and large language models to analyze big data and extract key insights to be communicated to the public. Students will also have opportunities to develop skills in natural language processing and machine learning, while also learning basic programming and data science techniques and collaborating with fellow students.

In addition to gaining valuable research experience, students will receive a $3,000 stipend upon successful completion of the program.

Apply online

Applications are due on Saturday, April 28. Students must be available to participate in the program from May 22 to June 30, for a mix of online and in-person formats at the 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo campus. Applicants of all levels of programming experience are welcome to apply. Those with a strong interest in working with data are preferred.

For more information or for any questions, email .

The Hawaiʻi Climate Data Portal (HCDP), which hosts a wide range of data products, climate tools and resources, had a busy first year. There were about 40,000 visits to the site from 23,000 unique visitors representing 119 different countries.

The portal was launched in 2022 through a partnership between the University of Hawaiʻi鈥檚 ʻIke Wai project, , and the .

“The need for reliable data and information has never been greater,” said East-West Center Fellow and researcher Ryan Longman, who worked on the portal鈥檚 development team. “Eight of the last nine years have been the hottest in the instrumental record.”

Advisory group formed

To mark HCDP鈥檚 one-year anniversary, the team of climate and data scientists met with stakeholders from more than 20 organizations to share the number of opportunities to develop useful data products and to improve functionality of the site. Researchers from the National Science Foundation supported Change Hawaiʻi and Hawaiʻi Mesonet projects focused on gaining guidance and expertise from scientists, resource managers and community members who could most benefit from and help shape the HCDP鈥檚 future development.

“We鈥檝e had huge rainfall events in Hawaiʻi; and the record daily rainfall, and the record hourly rainfall have all occurred over the last few years. There are a lot of changes occurring now and many more projected for the future,” Longman said. “If we can find ways to better understand the magnitude and timing of these changes, it can aid us in developing the tools necessary to effectively implement adaptation measures and to build resilience to these changing environmental conditions.”

• Related 糖心Vlog官方 News story: Revolutionary climate data portal critical to future planning, March 3, 2022

In love with the portal

Some tools already in development include, a decision support tool for ranchers, automated custom climate change, climate variability and drought portfolios and potential early warning systems in partnership with the state agencies for risks such as fire, flood and avian malaria.

“We鈥檙e absolutely in love with the data portal,” said Hawaiʻi Green Grove Project Coordinator Michael Omohundro who attended the meeting. “My organization is an NGO that tracks Hawaiʻi鈥檚 resilience against climate change, and this is a wonderful thing. I鈥檓 very honored to be here.鈥�

Other organizations present at the meeting included the Hawaiʻi State Commission on Water Resource Management, the Office of the Governor, the Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation Commission, Panaʻewa Resilience and Agricultural Innovation Hub, Kamehameha Schools, National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Researchers across the 10-campus University of Hawaiʻi system will be able to process larger datasets and models and accelerate existing workflows with a new intercampus data-storage platform called KoaStore. The platform is being established with a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant.

“KoaStore will help support and power 糖心Vlog官方 investigators鈥� research through its high-performance, large size and fast connection to the rest of the world. Further, KoaStore will help enable analysis of data at a scale not previously possible on the Mana high performance computing cluster, allowing larger simulations and discovery,” said Sean Cleveland, principal investigator and associate director of cyberinfrastructure at 糖心Vlog官方 .

KoaStore will be integrated into the and focus on supporting research in the areas of astronomy, atmospheric science, climate science, microbiome and computer and data science.

Serving national and local research

The new platform will also serve the national research community through partnership with the , leveraging existing 糖心Vlog官方, Pacific region and national high-speed research networks. This partnership federates national computing resources to offer high-speed storage and shorter wait-times on shared compute resources for 糖心Vlog官方 researchers.

“The public datasets hosted on KoaStore will make it possible for researchers in Hawaiʻi, across the nation and around the world to use astronomy data produced by the 糖心Vlog官方 (IfA),” said Curt Dodds, IT manager at IfA and KoaStore co-investigator. “We plan to share data from cosmological simulations, a dynamic database of the entire night sky, and machine learning models of the Sun’s atmosphere and distant galaxies.”

Data from the , also known as StePS, a novel astrophysics simulation method, are an example of public datasets available for download through KoaStore.

KoaStore will be integrated with the NSF cloud computing infrastructure and allow researchers to easily span cloud computing environments to support new deep learning and artificial intelligence workflows, visualization and applications.

Additionally, the platform will aid hands-on training in data and computational science for the next generation of researchers and data scientists through a partnership with the and local community to provide workshops and classroom access.

For the first time in its history, the University of Hawaiʻi 10-campus system topped half a billion dollars in extramural funding with a record $505 million in fiscal year 2022 (FY2022), which ended June 30. The record total tops 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 previous record of $488.6 million in FY2011 and is a $19.5 million or 4% increase over FY2021.

Extramural funding is external investments from the federal government, industry and non-profit organizations that support research and academic activities conducted by university faculty and staff. Extramural projects support research and innovation—increasing knowledge and providing solutions to improve quality of life.

“We are extremely pleased to have reached this significant milestone in our extramural funding history,” said 糖心Vlog官方 Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos. “Much of the credit is due to the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and graduate students who keep the 糖心Vlog官方 research enterprise on a steady course despite significant challenges from our economy, world affairs and fallout from the recent pandemic.”

糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补, the system鈥檚 flagship campus, accounted for $366 million of the extramural awards, followed by units at the 糖心Vlog官方 System level ($70.6 million), 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges ($43.6 million), 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo ($18.0 million) and 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu ($6.7 million).

糖心Vlog官方 research expenditures contribute to Hawaiʻi鈥檚 economy through business sales, employee earnings, state tax revenue and job creation; and serve as the main component in the diversification of Hawaiʻi鈥檚 economy. According to a 2021 economic impact report by the 糖心Vlog官方 Economic Research Organization, 糖心Vlog官方 research-related expenditures of $476.8 million in extramural funding in FY2020 generated $734.8 million in total business sales, $236.9 million in spending, $41.2 million in state tax revenue, while supporting an estimated 5,428 jobs.

“We are incredibly proud to have grown our 糖心Vlog官方 extramural enterprise into a major economic sector for Hawaiʻi that creates thousands of jobs and provides economic stimulation across our islands,” said 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner. “Our faculty and staff are collaborating with and training our students to engage in research and problem-solving that addresses the great challenges and opportunities that face Hawaiʻi and the world. This includes everything from climate change and energy solutions to addressing health disparities, educational inequities and training our residents for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”

Several examples of 糖心Vlog官方 programs that attracted the attention of funders:

• The and 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 (SOEST) was awarded $5.5 million, part of a five-year $25 million investment by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to develop an engineered coral reef ecosystem to protect coastlines. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• 糖心Vlog官方 received over $11 million for natural resource management programs covering endangered and invasive species, as well as marine and coastal ecosystems protection.
• 糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 (HNEI) received $6.2 million from the (ONR) for its Asia-Pacific Research Initiative for Sustainable Energy Systems for testing and evaluation of renewable generation and power system controls for smart- and micro-grids. HNEI also received $6 million from ONR to continue its research and maintenance support of the U.S. Navy鈥檚 Wave Energy Test Site in 碍腻苍别ʻ辞丑别 Bay. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• The 糖心Vlog官方 System received more than $5 million from ONR for tank inspection (糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补 ), hydrogeological research of groundwater and contaminant flow (SOEST) and enhanced water quality testing (糖心Vlog官方 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 ) related to the Red Hill water crisis.
• The was awarded $4.6 million, part of a five-year $23 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for Ola HAWAIʻI, a multidisciplinary research center that addresses health disparities in the underserved, multiethnic populations in Hawaiʻi. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research received $3.5 million, part of a five-year $20 million grant by the , to integrate climate and data science research under its Change HI initiative. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• DHHS awarded $2.9 million to the to continue its important Multiethnic Cohort Study. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• received $2 million from the National Science Foundation for its Akeakamai I Ka L膩 Hiki Ola initiative that encourages and promotes STEM education to Native Hawaiian students.
• received a $1 million donation from the to create the Hawaiʻi Institute for Sustainable Community Food Systems, a food system transformation hub grounded in complementary STEM disciplines, indigenous knowledge and cultural practices. Read more on 糖心Vlog官方 News.
• 糖心Vlog官方 贬颈濒辞鈥檚 received $712,000 from the U.S. Department of the Interior to conduct geological, geochemical, geophysical and risk mitigation research related to the K墨lauea, Mauna Loa and Haleakal膩 volcanoes.

University of Hawaiʻi President David Lassner provided the latest on 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 response to COVID-19 in his monthly report today, May 19, at the Board of Regents meeting at . Lassner cited the increase in positive cases in the state when explaining why the mask requirement for educational spaces will remain in place for the summer sessions.

He also provided progress reports on the tenure working group and Strategic Planning Initiative, discussed pay increases for employees and student employees and highlighted a five-year, $20 million National Science Foundation grant awarded to 糖心Vlog官方 to fund research and capacity building in support of actionable climate science.

• Mahalo to host Honolulu Community College ()
• COVID-19 update ()
• Tenure working group update ()
• Strategic Planning Initiative progress report ()
• Employee collective bargaining agreements ()
• Raises for student employees ()
• Higher payscale for graduate assistants ()
• Fall 2022 enrollment down slightly ()
• $499 million in research funding ()
• $20 million NSF award for data science ()
• Zero-cost textbook project ()

See previous president’s reports to the Board of Regents.