Issue 38   |   April 09, 2015   |   Archive   |   Subscribe

News & Events

Alumna Book Signing

APDM (now FDM) alumna and award-winning author Janet Mock will present a free public lecture at the UH Manoa campus on Thursday, April 16, at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom. The moderated talk will be followed by a book signing. Janet Mock is a writer, cultural commentator, and advocate for transgender women’s rights. Her coming-of-age memoir, Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More, debuted at No. 19 on the New York Times Best Sellers list last year.

Start Planning a Xeriscape

Fire on the Mountain—and How to Help

Wildfire expert Clay Trauernicht (NREM) writes, “As if the recent wildfires above Makakilo and Mililani Mauka weren’t close enough to home, the second fire on Wa'ahila ridge above UH Manoa campus in less than a month is a wake-up call. Wildfires in Hawai‘i are nearly all caused by people, pose real threats to our communities, and cause a long list of negative impacts to natural resources. But there’s hope. Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) are underway throughout the state through an effort by the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO). In addition to providing regional fire histories and community hazard assessments, CWPPs pull together community input on wildfire-related concerns and recommended actions to reduce wildfire risk. Once these plans are signed off, any proposed solution listed in the plan becomes eligible for funding by fire-specific federal programs. Agencies, communities, landowners, and even Cooperative Extension staff can then apply for money for hazard mitigation projects.” Clay has been helping gather input for the CWPPs from fire responders and landowners on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i, while Mark Thorne (HNFAS) is on the board of directors of the HWMO. If you or any stakeholders you work with have any wildfire-related concerns or project ideas, please contact Clay at trauerni@hawaii.edu or 808-956-6875.

A Wealth of Weed Wisdom

Did you miss Joe DeFrank’s TPSS Departmental Seminar on Weed Control for Tropical Cropping Systems and are now wishing you hadn’t as the weeds get the best of you? Never fear—the video and slides of have now been posted. Joe also presented a long-format presentation (2 hours and 49 minutes) on a wide range of weed-control concepts and techniques to the O‘ahu Master Gardener class on March 27, and that is posted as well, so go on—check them out and let your knowledge grow like a…weed!

Research Connoisseurs

The 27th Annual CTAHR Student Research Symposium will take place on April 10–11 in the Ag Sci Building. The college is investing very heavily in this year’s Symposium, awarding $1000 stipends in 30 presentation categories. And students who win $1000 stipends will be eligible to receive additional funding to present their Symposium-related work at national conferences during the 2015 calendar year. More abstracts were received this year than in any of the preceding 26 years of the Symposium, making the CTAHR/COE Symposium probably the largest student-exclusive conference in higher education in Hawai‘i. Please come to this year’s Symposium and marvel at the excellent research and other creative achievements of our students!

Banquet Delights

In the mood for some lemongrass-brined pork loin and kabocha polenta, not to mention good fun, fellowship, and college pride? You’re in luck! Registration is open for CTAHR’s 27th Annual Awards Banquet, where these and other good things will be abundantly available, so head on over to the Banquet registration page and reserve your space early for the banquet on May 8. While you’re there, check out the awardees to date and get your clapping muscles ready!

Grants & Awards

For the Animals

CTAHR alumnus and retired professor Dr. Jim Carpenter and his wife Jeanne, retired from the Hawai‘i Department of Education, have given a $75,000 gift to create endowed scholarships in CTAHR and at UH Hilo to help prepare future veterinarians and others who work with animals. The James and Jeanne Carpenter Endowed Scholarship will assist full-time undergraduate students pursuing a degree at the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management with a Pre-Veterinary Medicine or Livestock Production specialty in Animal Science, or Aquaculture at UH Hilo, and it will assist full-time undergraduate students pursuing a degree in Animal Sciences and/or studies in the Pre-Veterinary Program in the Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences department at UH Manoa. Dean Gallo said, “CTAHR is honored to receive this endowed scholarship, generously provided by one of our outstanding retired faculty. Students in Animal Sciences and the Pre-Veterinary Medicine Program will greatly benefit from it. The generosity of Dr. and Mrs. Carpenter demonstrates their commitment to helping others and giving back to the community.” Dr. Carpenter earned his M.S. in Animal Science at UH Manoa and in 1979 joined the faculty in HNFAS in CTAHR, where he worked for the remainder of his career. Twice during his tenure, he was appointed chair of the department, and he also earned several awards for excellence in teaching. He retired in December 2009.

The Students Have Spoken

Congratulations to Halina Zaleski (HNFAS) and Miho Fujii (HNFAS senior), who have been selected by CTAHR students for recognition at CTAHR’s 27th Annual Awards Banquet May 8. Halina will receive the Ka Pouhana Award for being, in the words of one nominator, an “icon of guidance and leadership, the embodiment of a mentor” who always finds time to support students despite the demands of being department chair. Miho will receive the Ka Hana Po‘okela Award for extensive and effective service to CTAHR student organizations, fellow students and the community. The dietetics major will be working on awards night…as co-emcee for the banquet. Cheer her on and applaud Halina at the banquet! Registration is open—the information is available at the banquet website.

Young Professional on the Move

Extension agent Andrea Kawabata (TPSS) was the recipient of a 2015 Western Extension Committee Young Professional Award, which recognizes and encourages innovative approaches that help targeted extension audiences to solve practical problems. These approaches should include the use of technology and active teaching tools to enhance some aspect of the Extension program, either through engaging the audience more fully, providing real-time evaluation of comprehension, or offering other unique aspects of new delivery methods. The award included a $250 honorarium and full travel expenses for Andrea to attend and present her work at the 2015 joint meetings of the Western Extension Farm Management Committee and Western Extension Marketing Committee, held January 5–7 in Phoenix, Arizona. The WEC joint meetings offer a rich professional growth opportunity to teach, learn from, and develop productive relationships with Extension colleagues from throughout the western states. At the meeting, Andrea explained the “PechaKucha” method for giving quick presentations and demonstrated its use to talk about her work with the Coffee Berry Borer.

Spotlight on Our Community

A Peach of a Celebration

Maui’s recent Ag Fest was a great success this year—largely due, says Maui County administrator Cindy Reeves, to the substantial part CTAHR played in the event. Dean Gallo and Associate Dean Charly Kinoshita were there, as well as CTAHR colleagues from O‘ahu, Moloka‘i, and Hawai‘i, UHMC partners, 4-H representatives, Master Gardeners, and other volunteers. Governor Ige visited CTAHR’s displays, as did Representative Ken Yamashita and Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa. Here Alton Arakaki shows the low-chill peaches that CTAHR is experimenting with growing to Governor Ige. Check out more pictures here!

Organic by Nature

TPSS graduate student Tia Silvasy was a member of a panel discussion held at the annual Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA) conference on March 28, at the KEY Project in Kane‘ohe. Other panel participants were Senator Gil Riviere, Jon Biloon, Una Greenaway, and Nick Reppun. Topics discussed included the future or organics and farming, what to do about exotic invasive pest plants, and how to better connect farming communities and interest groups on the Hawaiian Islands. CTAHR’s Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program had a booth at the conference, along with many other local organizations. The conference theme was Healthy Soils, Healthy Community, Healthy Ahupua‘a, and about 50 farmers and enthusiastic home gardeners attended the event. In keeping with the theme, NRCS, HARC, and Ko‘olau Seed & Supply passed out cover crop seeds and information using the cover crop calculator refined by Koon-Hui Wang (TPSS). HOFA vice president John Biloon also led a hands-on Soil Building workshop in which participants planted taro, sweet potato, onions, peppers, and cauliflower, and a good and organic time was had by all.

Center on the Family Matters

Two new faculty joined COF last summer. Hua Zan is an assistant researcher in Family Economics. She received her PhD in Family Resource Management at the Ohio State University. Her research interests include economics of health behaviors such as food consumption, alcohol use, and physical activity; health care use and expenditure; and health-related family decision-making including caregiving, employment, and retirement of the aging population. She is also interested in the economic well-being of immigrants, minorities, and other disadvantaged groups. Jenjira Yahirun is an assistant researcher in Family Demography. She received her PhD in Sociology from UCLA and then became an NICDH postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. Yahirun is a family sociologist and social demographer whose research focuses on the intersection of intergenerational relationships, aging, health and migration. She is interested in how social contexts and social norms influence parent-child relationships, how family relationships shape individual life course trajectories, and finally, how family members influence each others’ health outcomes in later life.

Probiotics Pro

Maria Stewart (HNFAS) is quoted describing the current state of the art of gut bacteria research in a recent article in Island Scene, explaining that the research and knowledge are advancing so rapidly that the information available may change just as quickly. The article discusses when and how to use probiotics and whether kimchi is as helpful as yogurt in that regard. (Answer: It may be, but more research is needed to determine this, and it doesn’t tend to be manufactured as uniformly as yogurt, so probiotic content may vary). Regardless, it’s clear that it pays to pay attention to what’s in your gut!

Butterfly Trekking

A recent Lei Chic blog article for Honolulu Magazine cites Will Haines (PEPS) as an authority on the best hikes to take to see butterflies, particularly the Kamehameha butterfly, or pulelehua. Top picks include Maunawili, Kaunala, Kulana‘ahane, Mokule‘ia, and Koko Crater trails. Will is also one of the experts consulted on the Butterflies exhibit at Pearlridge Center, which is on through Saturday, April 11. So get to the mall or out on a hike, and say hi to some butterflies!

Ears to the Future

TPSS alumnus Josiah Marquez recently checked in while working at the seed corn company Syngenta. He explains that he turns his hand to “any kind of work needed at the Kunia station,” which is “a parent seed station that multiples corn inbreds developed by Syngenta corn breeders.” He has worked with the rogueing team, which cuts down any 'rogue' or off-type plants from the fields. He scouts for corn earworms and fixes any leaks of the drip tape irrigation. He’s also worked in the harvest operations, including husking, drying, and shelling the cobs, packaging the seeds, and shipping them to Mainland stations to produce hybrids or increase their seed diversity. His original internship with Syngenta was 3 months, but he has remained employed by them through a temporary employment agency. He’s hoping to get a fulltime position in the field of agriculture so that he can save up for graduate school and/or land for a farm of his own. He cites as his greatest inspirations Dr. B, corn breeder extraordinare, “who gave me experience and an interest with corn,” and Koon-Hui Wang, who provided him with the contact information for setting up his internship.

On the Wing

The Pulelehua Project, which asks the community to help entomologists to determine the range of the mysteriously disappearing Kamehameha butterfly, is still going strong. Two recent articles are keeping the project, and the beautiful pulelehua, the state insect, in the consciousness of the public. One describes how to create a butterfly-friendly garden, including planting mamaki, the caterpillar’s favored food, while the other looks at an algorithm that attempts to explain what common factors unite the places the butterfly has been found in thus far in order to predict where else it might still be living.

Innovate and XLR8

Jun Innovations, a team comprised of assistant professor Soojin Jun (HNFAS) and students and collaborators, has been chosen as a finalist in the second cohort of XLR8UH, UH’s proof of concept center to help students and faculty commercialize their research. Their project proposes to preserve the original freshness of produce, meat, and other food products by controlling supercooling and ice crystallization of water molecules at subzero temperatures using combined pulsed 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.

Feeding the Hungry (Cows)

Students from Animal Sciences 201 and 433, along with volunteers from the US Air Force, helped plant forages at Naked Cow Dairy in Waianae on Sunday, March 15th. Feed remains a major challenge for the small dairy, which specializes in butter and locally made cheeses. The seed stock was bannagrass, which was provided by CTAHR’s Pearl City Urban Garden and the Waimanalo Research Station.

TEDx Talker

Ag Incubator director Steven Chiang was a speaker at TEDx Honolulu 2015 on March 28 at the UH Manoa Campus Center. His talk, entitled “Transforming the AgCurious into the AgProducer,” focused on the very successful GoFarm Hawai‘i program. He also recently presented to participants from 15 countries at an Asian Productivity Organization training on Rural Entrepreneurship in Nadi, Fiji. Participants were very interested in the models used at the Agribusiness Incubator Program and GoFarm Hawai‘i program to change the mindsets of aspiring agricultural entrepreneurs.

New Publications

Big Controversy on the Big Island

The latest issue of Biotech in Focus, “GMOs on Hawaii Island, Part 1: Neighbors square off over papaya, taro, and coffee,” discusses several controversies over genetically modified foods on the Big Island. It explains that many growers credit GM papaya with saving the papaya industry, while others feel that GM papayas, which may be contaminating non-GM varieties, are a greater threat than the ringspot virus. It also discusses a ban against genetically engineered taro and coffee that was enacted in the county. The current issue, and past issues are available on the Biotech in Focus website.

Capitalizing on Social Capital

The Center on the Family has released a new publication, “Successful Transitions From Foster Care to Adulthood: The Role of Social Capital.” Social capital, the data sheet explains, “consists of the network of relationships we have with key people in our lives (family, friends, classmates, neighbors, co-workers, etc.) and the exchange of emotional, social, and material support that these relationships provide.” The publication shows that those who have greater amounts of social capital are more likely to have safe and stable housing, needed medical care, and sufficient money for their expenses. It suggests ways to ensure that youth in foster care have healthy and supportive relationships, including keeping siblings together if possible and connecting young people with mentors.

Fish Sickness

An article co-written by Clyde Tamaru and Ruth Klinger-Bowen (MBBE), former MBBE faculty Bradley “Kai” Fox, and collaborators, “Prevalence of Francisella noatunensis subsp. orientalis in Cultured Tilapia on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii,” is amongst the ten most cited articles in the highly rated Journal of Aquatic Animal Health during 2013–2014. The publication is a superb example of CTAHR/international collaboration, with authors from St. Kitts and Great Britain as well as Hawai‘i.

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