The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded one of five 2022 Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) RII Track-1 grants to the University of Hawai‘i’s EPSCoR. The project “Change Hawai‘i: Harnessing the Data Revolution for Island Resilience” (Change[HI]) will receive $20M over a five-year period to support further research involving climate change, data science, fire science, low-temperature plasma science and engineering, and social equity and resilience.
Change(HI) aims to develop appropriate tools and workforce in Hawai‘i to study and understand the existential threat climate change poses to the state. Hawai‘i faces unique challenges as climate change impacts our resource availability, ecological sustainability, economic vitality, and human health in the islands.
UH President David Lassner stated, “Change(HI) represents an amazing opportunity for us to advance even further one of our globally distinctive strengths, climate change and resilience. At the same time, we will continue to build fundamental capacity in Hawai‘i in data science, which is increasingly vital across the full spectrum on inquiry and activity in academia, business, and government.”
Led by Principal Investigator Gwen Jacobs (Cyberinfrastructure Director, Hawai‘i EPSCoR Director), this multidisciplinary research effort includes Co-Principal Investigators Thomas Giambelluca (WRRC Director), Philip Johnson (CSDL Director), Jason Leigh (LAVA Director), and Helen Turner (Vice President of Innovation, Chaminade University). Participating organizations include: UH System, UH Mānoa, UH Hilo, Chaminade University, Island of Opportunity Pacific Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, Hawai‘i IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, UH LGBTQ+ Center, UH Office of Innovation and Commercialization, Waianae Mountains Watershed Partnership, Hawai‘i State Energy Office, and Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
News release: UH News (May 16, 2022)