Iona Cheng, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii scientist, has been selected for a two-year $200,000 grant from the Jim Valvano Foundation for Cancer Research.

She is one of 17 recipients of a V Scholar Award based on a grant proposal for research on prostate cancer in African-Americans.

The V Foundation for Cancer Research was initiated in 1994 by ESPN and Jim Valvano, former North Carolina basketball coach and award-winning broadcaster who had been diagnosed with cancer.

University of Hawaii-Manoa planetary astronomer Tobias Owen was awarded the 2009 Gerard P. Kuiper Prize by the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences for “;outstanding contributions in the field of planetary science.”;

He has participated in many NASA planetary missions over 40 years and has a long list of scientific discoveries, such as the rings of Jupiter and nobel (inert) gases and heavy water on Mars, the UH Institute of Astronomy said in a news release.

Owen, who joined the UH astronomy institute in 1990, is also co-author of two undergraduate textbooks and has authored more than 300 scientific articles.

He received the NASA Medal for Exceptional Public Service in June.