GEORGE F. LEE / STAR-BULLETIN
Bradley DuBois, 13, an eighth-grader at Pahoa
Intermediate School on the Big Island, put the
finishing touches on his working model of a
solar-powered balloon for the Hawaii State
Science and Engineering Fair.

Science fair
dedicated to
co-founder

Saul Price, the isles' first
climatologist, was an environmental
teacher and researcher

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

Judging of hundreds of projects from students throughout the state begins today at the Blaisdell Center for the Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair -- dedicated this year to Saul Price, one of its founders.

Price, who died last September, was a prominent and popular scientist and community leader.

He was Hawaii's first climatologist, serving 42 years in that capacity and as a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

He was a weather historian, supplying the media, government agencies and businesses with a wealth of factual and fascinating data about storms, rain, drought and other such phenomena in the islands.

GEORGE F. LEE / STAR-BULLETIN
Cara Hasegawa, 12, a seventh-grader at King
Intermediate School, was assisted by her dad,
Cecil Hasegawa, as they assembled her display
to announce the results of her tests for the
best softball bat.

He also was part of the team that initiated precise measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa Observatory in 1957 -- observations that alerted the world to global warming.

Price was the second director of the fair in 1959 and served as president of the Hawaiian Academy of Science, the fair's sponsor, in 1968 and 1981.

He was also president of Sigma Chi, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a research associate at the University of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics.

He was a devoted family man and neighborhood advocate.

He retired in 1992 and, in 1993, was the fourth recipient of the Moanalua Gardens Foundation's Kukui O Lota Award for his "contributions to the education of thousands of Hawaii's schoolchildren and his untiring efforts to develop environmental literacy in Hawaii's people."

After retirement, he and his wife, Edith, moved to Sarasota, Fla.

GEORGE F. LEE / STAR-BULLETIN
Hundreds of intermediate and high school students lined up
yesterday afternoon hoping to have their sicence project
cleared for final acceptance.

An award in his name has been established by Edith Price, the Aina Haina Community Association and the American Meteorological Society.

It will go to the outstanding meteorology project at the science fair.

It will be presented at the awards ceremony at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Blaisdell's Pikake Room.

NASA astronaut Ed Lu will discuss construction of the international space station, and Dr. "Gadget" Joe Laszo will give science demonstrations during a program from 1 to 2:45 p.m. today.

The public is invited to see the projects from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow. Admission is free.