UH ocean school has new dean
The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology is doing research and teaching that benefits the public, says Dean Brian Taylor.
For example, he said, the University of Hawaii-Manoa school is contracted by the City and County of Honolulu to produce a beach hazard map that tells people which beaches are safe.
The project, led by geology and geophysics professor Charles Fletcher, takes offshore buoy data gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and feeds it into a model to predict the face wave height on Oahu beaches, Taylor said.
It will probably start next month and will be updated twice a day so residents and visitors who don't know local conditions can go on the Web and see which beaches are safe, he said.
UH regents approved Taylor's appointment this week as dean of SOEST, effective July 1 for three years. He will succeed interim dean Klaus Keil.
Taylor, professor of geology and geophysics, has been a UH-Manoa faculty member for 24 years and acting dean of research at SOEST since 1994. He has garnered more than $8 million in grants and contracts for his work in marine affairs.
"Leadership at SOEST is of critical importance to the success of our research enterprise," said Manoa Chancellor Denise Konan.
"The school is such a resource for the university and the state," Taylor said in an interview. "It is an honor and a pleasure to actually have a chance to lead it into the future."
He and the faculty have ideas to put the school "in a global context," he said. "The governments of the world and major federal agencies of the United States have recognized the need for what is called a 'global Earth observation system of systems.'"
Many different national organizations "want to understand the environment in which we live and operate," he elaborated. But historically, making observations and getting information to the public and policymakers hasn't been well coordinated, he added.
As an indication of change, Taylor noted the governmental committee on climate change and the fact that policymakers want the best information possible on the future climate of the planet.
SOEST has the expertise to address practical questions related to the planet, such as rising temperature and sea levels and the future of hydrogen products, he said.
Taylor believes SOEST has "a mandate and obligation to the state we live in and the people who live in it to produce things that matter locally, as well as nationally and internationally."
He added, "There are lots of products we already provide, but I see opportunities for doing more of that in parallel with the fundamental research and education we already do."
The Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, one of the many arms of SOEST, has a key role in marine research for the Northwest Hawaiian Islands sanctuary, which the president has deemed a national monument, Taylor pointed out.
But the school's researchers don't work only in the tropics, he said, citing work in the Arctic by Margo Edwards, Hawaii Mapping Research Group director.
"We have people working all over the world," as well as a planetary group involved in space missions, Taylor said.
SOEST scientists are working on a project to launch small satellites from the Pacific Missile Range on Kauai to monitor the health of coral reefs globally, he said.
"That's exciting, not only for workforce development here in Hawaii, but also for the prospect of what it means: cheaper, faster, better and more satellites doing dedicated things we can put into space to monitor the earth we're changing."
Resources also are being put into a global ocean observing system similar to the weather service, Taylor said, with data collected and run through models to forecast physical and biological conditions of the ocean.
Knowing eddies and current fronts "plays into a lot of practical things," he added, noting recent concerns about sewage spills and water quality. "Can we go safely into the water again? All of these things are part of what we do."
WIDE RANGE OF SOEST
The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, considered "an economic engine" for Hawaii in terms of employment, training and high-tech positions, comprises:
» Four departments, three research institutes, a Sea Grant College Program, Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory with two submersibles, International Pacific Research Center, Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, a marine center at Snug Harbor for two UH ships, and many laboratories, centers and programs.
» More than 200 faculty members and about 860 to 870 UH and Research Corporation of UH employees.
» More than 2,000 undergraduate students per semester and 160 to 180 graduate students.
» An annual budget approaching $90 million, of which $70 million is from extramural funding and $4 million is overhead money from research contracts, providing a 4-to-1 ratio in terms of extramural vs. state funds.
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