New University of Hawaiʻi office launched to boost research capacity

The University of Hawaiʻi has launched a new office that will serve as a central hub for grant support, research development and funding opportunities to help boost scientific discovery, increase research capacity and stimulate workforce development in the state.

Backed by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA Office was created to help faculty and students from higher education institutions located in the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA jurisdiction (encompassing the state of Hawaiʻi) to expand their research efforts, while enhancing the impact and visibility of Hawaiʻi-based research across the nation.

“The launch of this office is an important step in strengthening our state’s research capacity and expanding support for faculty and students,” UH President Wendy Hensel said. “By building stronger partnerships and increasing access to federal funding, we can accelerate discovery, grow Hawaiʻi’s research workforce and deliver meaningful impact for our communities.”

The EPSCoR program is a federal initiative designed to strengthen research capacity and competitiveness across states, territories and jurisdictions that historically have received a smaller share of federal research funding. In 2016, NSF awarded UH a five-year $20 million grant for its ʻIke Wai (knowledge of fresh water) project to conduct geophysical research to better understand the dynamics of freshwater aquifers around the state. In addition to providing updated information on water flows and capacities, the study helped to more accurately map the contaminant flow from subsequent leaks into the aquifer that contributed to the eventual shutdown of the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oʻahu in 2022. Currently, UH’s Change Hawaiʻi project leverages AI, machine learning and high-resolution data to advance climate resilience and ecosystem monitoring across the islands.

Similarly, the IDeA program works to broaden the geographic distribution of biomedical research funding in states and territories that have historically received lower levels of NIH research funding. In Hawaiʻi, IDeA enriches UH programs such as UH Mānoa’s Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) and its Diabetic Research Center; the Hawaiʻi IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), which helps to fortify research programs statewide to increase the number of undergraduate students seeking a biomedical science career; and the Center for Pacific Innovations, Knowledge, and Opportunities (PIKO) that aid medically underserved populations in Hawaiʻi by improving clinical and translational research infrastructure.

“The launch of the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA Office represents an important step forward in strengthening our state’s innovation ecosystem,” said Amy Asselbaye, executive director of City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Revitalization. “As a member of the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR Jurisdictional Steering Committee (JSC), I’m excited to play a role in aligning research priorities and translating federal investment into meaningful, community-centered outcomes. By advancing collaboration and increasing local research, we can support scientific discovery while creating pathways for economic diversification, workforce development, long-term resilience for Hawaiʻi, and a better quality of life for our people.”

The UH Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation oversees and provides administrative support for Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA initiatives. The Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA Office is currently working with JSC—a strategic advisory body comprised of members from local government, business, higher education, health, and community based organizations—on a new Hawaiʻi Science and Technology Plan (S&T Plan). The S&T Plan will serve as a five-year strategic road map to enhance the state’s research competitiveness, economic resilience and workforce through science, technology and data-driven innovation, by building on Hawaiʻi’s unique geographical, cultural and ecological strengths.

“The role of the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA Office is to serve as quarterback for a team of outstanding faculty and students from higher education institutions in Hawaiʻi to help secure critical funding and infrastructure for their critical research that impacts not only our state, but the world,” said UH Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Chad Walton. “Armed with a new S&T Plan that reflects the state’s research priorities, it is our goal to foster more public-private-academic collaboration to further strengthen our state’s research capacity and ultimately—our economy.”