Can the state of Hawaiʻi reach its 100% renewable electricity target by 2045? The skeptics may harbour their doubts, but Samir Khanal and Tomoaki Miura have a plan – and a grant – that could facilitate connecting bioresources with bioenergy interests. Samir, of the Dept. of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, and Tomoaki, of the Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, have partnered on a recent $150,000 Sun Grant Western Region grant. Their goal? 

Congrats to Robert Paull for his recent Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biology Award! Robert, of the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, comprises less than 0.2% of the ASPB membership who receive this prestigious honor. He will be formally recognized June 22-26 at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center during the Annual Plant Biology Conference of the ASPB.  

Only three recipients nationwide in 2024 will earn the Keller Scholarship in Conservation Horticulture from Botanic Gardens Conservation International and Garden Club of America – and CTAHR’s own Gracianne Young is one of them.

CTAHR’s mission is to secure the future of Hawaiʻi by building local self-sufficiency in food and agricultural products, noted Dean Parwinder Grewal at the first CTAHR Conference April 11. “CTAHR’s inclusive vision is to secure the future of Hawaiʻi through collaborative innovation and merging the Western, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Hawaiian knowledge systems,” he said.

The CTAHR ‘Ohana Banquet drew a sizable and smiling crowd to the Japanese Cultural Center the evening of April 12. Festooned end-to-end with spectacular floral arrangements that rival any other event in the state, bar none, the aesthetics in the ballroom were a testament to the Hawaiian concept of laulima – with many hands the work is lighter.