• Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes
• Hawai'i Mapping Research Group
• Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium
• Pacific Regional Planetary Data Center
• Hotspots: Global Space-borne Volcano and Fire Thermal Monitoring
• HawaiiView: Satellite Remote Sensing Data and Images
• PSRD: Planetary Science Research Discoveries, educational journal
• Web forms (internal use)
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• Department of Geology and Geophysics
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• University of Hawai'i, Manoa
• Online Resources
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HIGP is a multi-disciplinary institute engaging in advanced research, teaching, and service in cutting-edge oceanographic, atmospheric, geophysical, geological, and planetary sciences. We are a part of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the Manoa (Honolulu) campus of the University of Hawaii. Our Institute is home to over 130 faculty, staff, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students with access to state-of-the-art laboratories and instrumentation. HIGP expertise spans the globe from pole to pole, from the depths of the seas to the tops of volcanoes and extends to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
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At the Australian Earth Sciences Convention in Perth this week, Planetary Scientist Jeff Taylor talked to the Australian media about the possibilities of people living on the red planet within the next 25 years, about how the chemical composition of Mars differs from that of the Earth and what that tells us about how the solar system formed, and how water may have affected Mars over time. Read more about it at Cosmos Magazine and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, [.mp3 audio file].
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Planetary scientist Edward Scott is the recipient of the 2008 Leonard Medal from the Meteoritical Society, an honor which recognizes outstanding contributions to the science of meteoritics and closely allied fields. An HIGP faculty member since 1990, Scott has over 35 years of distinguished research experience and over 130 research publications. He is recognized as one of the leading researchers of meteorites in the field of cosmochemistry, an interdisciplinary science that overlaps with geochemistry, geology, astronomy, astrophysics, and geophysics to discover the fundamental processes that formed our solar system. The medal will be presented to Dr. Scott at the 71st annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society (July 28-Aug. 1, 2008) in Matsue, Japan. Read more about this honor in the SOEST press release pdf. Congratulations Ed. |
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Associate Researcher Benjamin Brooks has received a 2008 University of Hawai'i Regents' Medal for Excellence in Research. Awarded by the Board of Regents, it recognizes scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of knowledge and enrich the lives of students and the community. Ben's work includes studies of slow earthquakes on the Big Island, the geodetic analysis of tectonics in South America, innovative uses of tripod lidar, and contributions to the ocean observing system. More on current and past HIGP medal winners will appear online. Congratulations Ben. |
Graduate student Samuel Hulme is one of 24 graduate students at U.H. Manoa selected this year to receive a $5,000 award from the Honolulu chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, Inc. Sam won the Toby Lee Award in Geology and Geophysics for his studies of Earth systematics and deep-sea exploration of active plate margins. Sam's PhD advisor is Patricia Fryer. Read more about it in the U. H. Press Release. Congratulations Sam.
Graduate student Joshua Cahill's presentation, "Radiative Transfer Modeling of Geophysically
Targeted Lunar Impact Crater Central Peaks," [.pdf link] has been selected for Honorable Mention in the oral presentations category for the 2008 Stephen E. Dwornik Planetary Geoscience Student Paper Awards. The Dwornik Award, begun in 1991, is given for the best student presentations (one each for poster and oral) at the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Josh's PhD advisor is Paul Lucey. Congratulations Josh.
Graduate student Mikki Osterloo is first author on the publication "Chloride-Bearing Materials in the Southern Highlands of Mars" published in the March 21, 2008 issue of Science magazine. The paper details spectral observations from NASA's Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System that enabled the detection of chloride minerals, apparently formed from the evaporation of water, across some of the oldest regions on Mars. Co-authors include Dr. Vicky Hamilton and Dr. Scott Anderson, both principal scientists at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO. Read more about this exciting work in a March 22nd article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin written by Helen Altonn, in National Geographic News, and BBC News.
Three faculty members have recently been selected as participating scientists on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, scheduled for launch in late 2008. The LRO payload, comprised of six instruments and one technology demonstration, will provide key data sets to enable a human return to the Moon. Jeff Gillis-Davis will work on the assessment of lunar resources using data from multiple instruments. B. Ray Hawke will investigate lunar dark mantle deposits using the orbiter's camera. Paul Lucey will concentrate on mineral mapping using multiple datasets. To read more about the LRO mission and instrument suite visit the LRO website.
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Senior Research Scientist and Director of the Hawaii Mapping Research Group Margo Edwards was recently appointed to the Scientific Ice Expedition (SCICEX) Science Advisory Committee. SCICEX is a collaboration between the U.S. Navy and civilian scientists for geological and environmental research in the Artic Ocean. The focus of the committee is to develop and help implement arctic science plans for use with the U.S. Navy submarines. Read the Honolulu Star Bulletin article written by Helen Altonn about the work Margo Edwards and her husband, HMRG Computer Network Engineer Roger Davis are doing in the community to raise awareness of energy and climate change issues. |
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The spectacular launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on February 7, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. HST marked the first space flight for astronaut Stanley G. Love, a former HIGP Post Doctoral Fellow. In 1994 Dr. Love was here researching and modeling the formation of meteoritic chondrules and the collisional evolution of asteroids. More information is available in his astronaut bio, in Stan's pre-flight interview, and on the STS-122 mission page. Congratulations Stan!
This NASA photo of the STS-122 crew shows Dr. Love standing third from the right.
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| Assistant Researcher Jeff Gillis-Davis is a team member on NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury. Dr. Gillis-Davis brings his expertise in lunar science to Mercury as MESSENGER makes the first visit to the planet closest to the Sun since NASA's Mariner 10 mission in 1974. Read more about it in the January 14th issue of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the UH News page, SOEST press release pdf, and January 21st issue of New Scientist. |
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Senior Research Scientist Roy Wilkens is chief scientist for a project funded by the military to use sonar, manned submersibles, and a remotely operated vehicle to survey chemical weapons dumped off the Wai'anae Coast and Pearl Harbor in the mid 1940s. Read more about it in the November 15th issue of the Honolulu Advertiser. |
Geology and Geophysics undergraduate student, senior Carolyn Parcheta, received the Outstanding Student Paper Award in the Planetary Sciences Section at the 2007 AGU Joint Assembly in Acapulco, Mexico. Working with HIGP mentor, Sarah Fagents, Carolyn won the honor with her research on "The Influence of Slope Variations on the Levees of Large Channelized Lava Flows in the Tharsis Region of Mars." Congratulations Carolyn.
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Associate Researcher Sarah Fagents had a rare opportunity to study a fresh volcanic mudflow (lahar) when the event happened during her March, 2007 research trip to Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand (see photo). She and Bruce Houghton (the SOEST Gordon A. Macdonald Professor of Volcanology) conducted field work on the mountain and led a group project with UH students from the Geology and Geophysics 601 class. Dr. Fagents will be incorporating the new Ruapehu data into the computer model she is developing, with funding from the National Science Foundation, to simulate lahar emplacement and to predict the associated hazards. For more information see the SOEST Press Release and July 15th article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin. |
| HIGP and SOEST, in cooperation with the School of Engineering, have formally announced the establishment of the Hawai'i Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL) at the University of Hawai'i. The first launch from Kaua'i of a small satellite into Earth orbit is slated for Fall of 2009. For more information see the May 29th U. H. News Release and a February 4th overview in the Honolulu Star Bulletin. |
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Find out what else is happening through the SOEST News and Press Releases.
HIGP solves fundamental problems in Earth and Planetary Science by the development and application of state-of-the-art exploration, measurement, and data analysis technologies. HIGP serves society and the State of Hawaii by acquiring and disseminating new knowledge about the Earth and other planetary bodies, and developing and introducing leading edge technologies and a highly trained workforce to the State economy.
Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
University of Hawai'i
1680 East-West Road, POST 602
Honolulu, HI 96822
Office Phone: 808.956.8760
Fax: 808.956.3188
Dr. Peter J. Mouginis-Mark, Director
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