Dr. Ju-Young Kang (FDM)’s research article, titled “Artificial intelligence-powered digital solutions in the fashion industry: A mixed-methods study on AI-based customer services,” has been published in the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education [LINK]. Using a sequential mixed-methods approach, this research examined customer experiences with and the uses and gratifications of AI chatbots as AI-based customer services and the influence of customers’ perceptions of service quality in AI-based customer services on favorable customer experiences, brand loyalty, and purchase loyalty.  For more information, read the full article [LINK] -written by Ju-Young Kang

Former employees of Aloha Airlines recently donated a collection of uniforms to the UHM Historic Costume Collection.  The donation includes over 50 flight attendant uniforms from the 1950s to 2000s and represents the changes in fashion trends designed by local brands like Baba Kea and Tori Richard.  For more information, read the artcle (LINK). -written by Andrew Reilly

In response to the wildfire disasters in Lahaina and Kula, Maui 4-H quickly organized a statewide disaster response training – Hawai‘i’s first-ever event tailored specifically for teens. With 110 high school students from every Hawaiian island gathering at Baldwin H.S. in Wailuku, and a program based on the national Community Emergency Response Team administered by FEMA, it was a rare and valuable opportunity to both train for emergencies and discuss ways to contribute to the long-term disaster recovery process and future disaster planning.

You probably know Andre Seale as a foremost authority on fish endocrinology and physiology, or as the 2023 recipient of the CTAHR Dean’s “Ka Pouhana” Mentor Award for Excellence. But the life aquatic with this professor in the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food & Animal Sciences also refers to the many, many hours he’s spent underwater as an expert scuba diver and award-winning wildlife photographer.

You’ve seen Shark Tank? Well, welcome to Space Tank. A UH research team led by Shu-Hwa Lin of the Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences, Fashion Design and Merchandising Program, is heading to Houston to compete in NASA’s MITTIC Competition. Besides participating in the federal space agency’s contest – the first Hawaiʻi group to do so – the team will seek guidance from NASA experts who study fire resistance during spaceship re-entry.