Vera Wang, a senior at Kaiser High School, won multiple awards at the 2026 Hawai‘i State Science & Engineering Fair. Her project, conducted in @fungaloha.bsky.social's lab at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, found that fungal communities living in coconut husks can biodegrade sunscreen and plastic.

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has reorganized the Waikīkī Aquarium into SOEST to enhance research synergies while maintaining its public offerings. This move aims to create a cohesive framework for marine science education and community service, transforming the aquarium into a living laboratory.

Join us for this Earth Science Seminar on Friday, May 1, 2026, at 11:30 Hawaii time (UTC-10) with Prof. Candace Fujikane, who brings an important native Hawaiian perspective on land and ocean relationships. Non-UH participants, you can obtain the link by emailing: [email protected].

Prof. Niklas Schneider from the Department of Oceanography showed @helenczerski.bsky.social some of the ocean phenomena that can be demonstrated with a rotating tank. In this case, it’s the formation of subtropical gyres and why we will always have the Gulf Stream. 🌊 weathertank.mit.edu

A student-led engineering team from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and UH Hilo, Team RoSE, is a finalist in NASA’s 2026 RASC-AL Competition. Their project, PETAL, proposes a scalable power system for lunar operations that combines nuclear and lunar-soil energy storage. 🔌💡

The University of Hawaiʻi has been designated by NOAA as the Pacific Reef Research Coordination Institute to support coral reef conservation in the Pacific. The institute will conduct research, collaborate with various stakeholders, and implement NOAA’s coral reef strategies. 🌊

Here’s a starter pack of people at SOEST.

Researchers from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa created a simple ocean-based model to predict El Niño and La Niña 15 months ahead using ocean surface temperature and height data. It achieves forecast skill similar to complex models. The current forecast predicts a strong El Niño later this year. 🌊

@manelcamacho.bsky.social could you please add us to the science feed? 🙏

A University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa study shows that Waikīkī faces increasing sewage flood risks from sea-level rise through storm-drain backflow and groundwater emergence. The findings call for updated flood strategies focused on contamination, not just surface damage and economic loss.

Oceanographers from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa discovered the answer to how species diversity can be so vast and sustained in a seemingly homogeneous environment like the open ocean. 🌊

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and the Waikīkī Aquarium are collaborating to increase awareness of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Sanctuary through lectures, a revamped exhibit, and educational programs. 🌊