Issue 26   |   January 28, 2014   |   Archive

News & Events

Alumni Are Great, So Nominate!

College alumni and friends are invited to nominate individuals for alumni, faculty, and staff awards to be presented at the 26th Annual CTAHR Awards Banquet in May—the criteria, deadlines, and nominating process are posted on the CTAHR awards website. In addition to Outstanding Alumnus/Alumna, the awards include Excellence in Teaching, Excellence in Research, Excellence in Extension, Outstanding Service by an Administrative, Professional, or Technical (APT) Employee, Outstanding Civil Service, and the Hoku Award for an Individual with Administrative Potential. The deadline for nominations is January 31, so hurry to honor that outstanding employee today! And don't forget to save the date for the Banquet itself—that's May 9, 2014, at the Ala Moana Hotel.

Woo Hoo! ‘Ulu!

Interested in growing breadfruit (‘ulu)? Learn all about it at the ‘Ulu Production and Agronomy Field Day, Wednesday, February 7, 1 p.m. at the Mililani Ag Park. Mark Nickum (TPSS) and other speakers will discuss propagation techniques, nutrient needs, irrigation requirements, field prep and spacing, sources for nursery stock, and pruning ‘ulu. A take-home planting guide and refreshments will be provided. RSVP by February 6 at 343-8196.

Cover Crops Up High

Come visit some cover crops in the sky! Or at least up high. The Lalamilo Research Station will hold a field day on Cover Crops for High Elevation in Hawai‘i on Wednesday, February 5, at 12 noon. Field day visitors will have an opportunity to learn about the benefits of cover crops and their “cocktail mix” and to view the growth of different cover crop mixtures at high elevation. The cover crop field trial was established in early December 2013, and its objectives are to collect data to develop a Cover Crop Calculator for Hawai‘i, and to evaluate the soil health improvement potential of cold climate cover crops. Guest speakers for the day are Archana Pant (TPSS) and Koon-Hui Wang (PEPS). For more information, contact Didi at 887-6183 or email (mddiaz@hawaii.edu).

Oh, No! More Invasive Pests!

The coconut rhinoceros beetle was detected on O'ahu during routine surveys conducted under a cooperative agreement between CTAHR and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Protection & Quarantine. The beetle was discovered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Dec. 23. Since the discovery, the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) and the USDA-PPQ have been working jointly with the military and CTAHR to survey and conduct trapping activities to determine the extent of the infestation. So far, nine adult beetles have been trapped. HDOA has more information on the identification of the coconut rhinoceros beetle and what to do if you see one.

Eyes on Butterflies

The new Pulelehua Project, brought to fruition by William Haines (PEPS), invites hikers and nature lovers to help track our state insect, the Kamehameha butterfly. Although the butterfly is historically known on almost all the Hawaiian Islands (and nowhere else in the world), it is disappearing from some areas where it used to be common (e.g., Tantalus on O'ahu). The Pulelehua website provides information on how to identify the Kamehameha butterfly in all its life stages—egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult butterfly—as well as the plants that most commonly host it. Anyone who spots a Kamehameha butterfly in any stage is encouraged to submit photos and observations at the website. This citizen science effort will help researchers map the population, a vital clue in discovering how we may conserve and preserve our unique butterfly.

Grants & Awards

White Flower, Blue Ribbon

'Hokuloa', an anthurium developed by TPSS and PEPS, won a Blue Ribbon in the Society of American Florists' 2013 Outstanding Varieties Competition. The anthurium was entered by Hilo-based Green Point Nurseries, one of the state's largest cut flower producers and a longtime CTAHR collaborator. The bright white, heart-shaped 'Hokuloa' was named for the planet Venus, the morning and the evening star. A star is born!

The Dr. B Fellowship

After decades of teaching, mentoring, and research, plant breeder and corn guru James Brewbaker (TPSS) has given another gift to the college. He has established an endowed fellowship with outright and estate gifts totaling $1 million, the largest gift ever received by the University of Hawai‘i. The James L. Brewbaker endowed fellowship will assist full-time TPSS graduate students studying plant breeding. “The two billion people this world held when I was born in ’26 have sadly grown to more than seven billion, of whom one billion go to bed hungry,” said Dr. B. “My gift simply underscores my faith that plant breeding can, and indeed will have to contribute even more than it has in the past. No better place than University of Hawai‘i.” Learn more about Dr. B’s gift and watch him present it at KITV. Then check out photos of the event here and here. Mahalo nui loa, Dr. B!

Breadfruit Work Honored

CTAHR collaborator and TPSS alumna Diane Ragone was selected as a Star of Oceania by the Pacific Business Center for her work as the director of the National Tropical Botanical Garden’s Breadfruit Institute. This honor comes on the heels of the November 15 announcement by the USDA that compounds in the male flowers of breadfruit are significantly more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET. These findings are the result of collaborative research conducted using NTBG’s breadfruit collection and published in a March 2012 paper co-authored by Diane. In October, the work of the Breadfruit Institute was featured in Science magazine. Congratulations, Diane!

Spotlight on Our Community

Go, Go, Gardeners!

What better place for a garden than the Garden Isle? An article about the Kaua‘i Master Gardener Program appeared in Midweek Kauai, explaining the program and the classroom training as well as the volunteer responsibilities. Kaua‘i Master Gardener volunteers assist the university in its mission to deliver relevant, research-based, environmentally sound horticulture information to the public. Through community outreach and education, the university strives to promote sustainable gardening practices and environmental stewardship on Kaua‘i. Kim Perry, extension agent and Kaua‘i Master Gardener coordinator, will teach the introductory class, which covers gardening in Hawai‘i. Other teachers include Hector Valenzuela (PEPS) and Jonathan Deenik, Joe DeFrank, and Ted Radovich (all TPSS). Let's get out and plant responsibly!

Empowering Environmental Youth

Alumna Rebecca Beralas (NREM) has been sharing the ideas of conservation and environmental education through her work as the program outreach coordinator for Kupu. The mission of Kupu is to empower youth to serve their communities through character-building, service learning, and environmental stewardship opportunities. Some of the highlights of Rebecca’s journey include internship programs, planning and leading large-scale environmental community service events, and having the opportunity to educate and mentor hundreds of environmentally minded young adults each year. She credits her professors Christopher Lepczyk and Creighton Litton (both NREM) for inspiring her through their thoroughness, knowledge, and ability to push students to do their best while sharing opportunities with them. And in her free time, Rebecca will be releasing her debut reggae album later this year. Go for it, Rebecca!

Muscles, Bones, and Milestones

Congratulations to HNFAS’ Yong-Soo Kim for 20 years of service and Jinzeng Yang for 10 years of service at the university! Both scientists study muscle development and molecular mechanisms and their applications to improving animal production efficiency. As animal scientists, they study efficient muscle growth critical to meat production, reduced feed efficiency, and environmental impacts. Jinzeng (right) and Yong-Soo (middle, pictured with department chair Halina Zaleski) work on the regulation of myostatin, a growth-differentiation factor that controls muscle mass. Whether it’s shrimp, fish, swine, or beef cattle, muscle growth appears to be controlled by different forms of myostatin. Mutations in myostatin genes can lead to significant muscle growth and thus increased meat production. With the understanding of myostatin, growth of muscle can be studied and made more efficient. Yong-Soo and Jinzeng also use animal models with depressed myostatin function and increased muscle mass to understand impacts of skeletal muscle on obesity and diabetes prevention. Enhanced skeletal muscle mass can be very effective in maintaining glucose homeostasis in both type I and type II diabetes. They are always looking for interested graduate students and scientists to work with them in this exciting subject of myostatin and skeletal muscle.

International Aquaponics Connections

Dean Maria Gallo celebrated an international collaboration between MBBE’s aquaponics initiative, local farmers, local and State agencies, and the Japanese Horimasa Corporation at an event held at Mari’s Garden last November 18. The collaboration is looking to develop and refine aquaponics technology that will reduce water use and create a “two for one” harvest of both fish and food crops. Led by MBBE’s Clyde Tamaru and Bradley “Kai” Fox, the researchers have been working on a project to design a mobile, controlled-environment production facility to produce local, sustainable, and organic food. MBBE alumni Scott Shibata and Ryo Kubota of Diagenetix are also working with Horimasa on future food security-related projects. The event was attended by Chancellor Tom Apple, Governor Abercrombie, and members of the Horimasa Corp. Check out more photos of the evening. A big mahalo to Clyde’s student Domenick Barbo for his assistance in publicizing the event!

Kaka‘ako Kalo

Any place can be a farm, even a strip of dirt in a parking lot. Urban Farm Hawai‘i, founded by TPSS student Andrew Dedrick, is transforming land along the Kaka‘ako thoroughfare into an urban taro patch. Mitchell Loo and Nate Ortiz (also TPSS students) and volunteers spent a weekend planting more than 500 donated dryland taro plants in a patch of land fronting the former CompUSA building. The project is short term since the entire area is slated for redevelopment, but Urban Farm Hawai‘i expects the crop to yield lu‘au leaves and at least one harvest of taro. Read the Star Advertiser article here.

Highway Gardens

There are big plans for those empty patches of land along the highway. Turf specialist Joe DeFrank, postdoctoral researcher Orville Baldos and doctoral candidate Scott Lukas (all TPSS) were featured on KITV for their work introducing native plants to unused land along the highways. The project, coordinated with the Department of Transportation, aims to reduce soil erosion and battle invasive species by planting native species along the H1, as well as use the land along the highway to create seed farms for future plants.

Cool Food Research

HNFAS’s Soojin Jun’s food storage and preservation research was recently featured on the front page of Ka Leo. Soojin and co-PI Peter Berkelman in the School of Engineering are working on new technology to minimize freezing damage to food due to water crystallization by manipulating the water’s electric and magnetic fields. The proposed technology will not require sequential freezing-thawing processes for long-term food storage, so food quality can be maintained as fresh without structural damage, such as drip loss, softening, and loss of valuable nutrients. The project received a three-year, $500,000 Improving Food Quality and Value grant through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Memory Care

Finding a job in one’s field of interest can be tough, so FAMR graduate Allyson Fujii is delighted to be working in gerontology as the activities assistant at Belmont Village Assisted Living in San Jose, California. At the village, she cares for elderly residents with mild cognitive impairment in the memory care program called the Circle of Friends. Although her job comes with its challenges, she enjoys spending time and reminiscing with the residents. Allyson credits Michael Cheang and Lori Yancura (both FCS) with sharing the knowledge and advice that inspired her to live a goal-oriented life and take an interest in the aging population. Congratulations, Allyson!

New Publications

Income and the Reading Gap

In Hawai‘i and the rest of the U.S. young readers face a pretty hefty challenge: income. COF, the designated Hawai‘i KIDS COUNT grantee, collaborated with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on Early Reading Proficiency in the United States, a KIDS COUNT data snapshot. The publication finds that while there have been overall improvements in reading scores over the past decade, the gap between students from higher- and lower-income families is growing wider, and a large majority of children in the U.S. are not reading proficiently by the time they reach fourth grade. According to Hawai‘i KIDS COUNT project director Ivette Rodriguez Stern (COF), Hawai‘i’s trend is similar to the nation’s. While the share of students not proficient in reading remains slightly higher in Hawai‘i than nationally, the state has seen an overall improvement in proficiency levels, with 70% of fourth graders reading below proficiency in 2013 compared to 79% in 2003. Despite these overall improvements, disparities between income groups persist. Read more about it in the KIDS COUNT report.

Beyond Aloha Shirts

Andrew Reilly (FDM) was recently interviewed on KITV and ThinkTech regarding his upcoming book Honolulu Street Style. Situated at the crossroads of different cultures, Honolulu has a style all of its own, he explains. Honolulu Street Style captures this unique approach as it demonstrates how global trends are transformed by stylish Honolulu denizens to create a unique, local look. Divided into chapters on hair, hats, accessories, and beachwear, the book features the styles of people encountered on the street and in many different neighborhoods, with an essay on the history and clothing of Hawai’i as a whole. Check out the book on Amazon, too!

Biotech Fun

The new Biotech in Focus series, begun this month by the Biotechnology Outreach Program under Ania Wieczorek, offers a general overview of biotechnology news and issues. The subjects covered in this series range from basic biological aspects to complex societal issues, including safety of biotech products, environmental compatibility, needs of modern agriculture, opinion pieces, and much, much more. Biotech in Focus will be published twice a month, with each bulletin presented in accessible form and providing pertinent science-based information in a non-technical and fun format. Read the first issue of Biotech in Focus, featuring DNA, what it is, and how it works, at the website.

Golden Years, CTAHR Style

The previous quarter’s Impact Report looked at the ways CTAHR reaches out to the youth of the state, so it’s only right that the 4th Quarter Impact Statement, now available online and in print, focuses on the college’s work on behalf of Hawai‘i’s seniors. Get inspired by stories of extension projects helping grandparents caring for grandchildren, eating and lifestyle tips for healthy aging, and the Center on the Family’s database of publications and statistics on Hawai‘i’s elderly!

In Memoriam

Yoneo Sagawa

We are saddened to report that orchid expert Dr. Yoneo Sagawa passed away December 10, 2013, in Honolulu. A CTAHR professor emeritus of horticulture and a former director of the Lyon Arboretum, Yoneo was well-known in the orchid community for pioneering techniques in orchid micropropagation, a cloning method that allows for infinite copies of a mother plant. His areas of research included tissue culture of orchids and cytogenetics of horticultural crops. He was a staunch supporter and lifetime member of the Honolulu Orchid Society as well as a well-respected teacher and mentor to many in the orchid industry around the world. Services were held December 20.

Gary Vieth

Agricultural and resource economist Dr. Gary Vieth, who worked at CTAHR until his retirement in 2002, passed away December 18 in Honolulu. A prolific author, Gary was active in many areas of land use and economics research ranging from the managing ranches and farms to conserving Hanauma Bay to alternative resources for hula lei. Gary was an important part of the former Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, where he served as chair. Memorial services were held Saturday, January 4, at Queen’s Surf Beach, where his ashes were scattered.

Barbara Harger

Textile expert Dr. Barbara Harger (FCS) passed away December 24 in Warwick, New York. Always involved with the exploration of textiles and their social connections, Barbara first joined the UH faculty in 1969. She returned after completing her PhD at Florida State University, eventually serving as chair of the department. She officially retired from CTAHR in 2002 but continued to work as an advisor for the clothing program until 2004. Her love of textiles extended outside the university; she served as a board president for the Hawai‘i Stitchery and Fibre Arts Guild and the Hawaiian Quilt Research Project. FCS plans to start a scholarship in honor of Barbara’s contributions to the program.