Supporting Hawai‘i Science Since 1974
Honolulu celebrated ARCS Foundation, Inc.'s 50th anniversary with a luncheon at College Hill, traditional home of the University of Hawai‘i president, in 2008. Chapter president Cynthia Hunter, an ARCS Scholar alumna, visited with UH representatives Laurence Kolonel, 2005 ARC Honolulu Scientist of the Year, and College of Natural Sciences Dean Alan Teramura.
Incorporated on Dec. 27, 1974, Honolulu is the foundation’s fourth-oldest chapter.
Founding OfficersMrs. Charles M. Floyd II, President Inaugural Board of DirectorsMrs. Delphia Cupp, ParliamentarianMrs. Melvin G. Frailey, Jewelry and Special Awards Mrs. James G. Lathrop, ARCScoops Mrs. Alice Wheelon, Telephone Mrs. Robert Maxey, Historian Mrs. Phyllis Spalding, Advisor Mrs. Lloyd Martin Mrs. Adrian Perry Mrs. Don Swan Mrs. Carlyle Nelson (Hilo Hattie) Mrs. King-Lit Ching Mrs. W. Donald Castle Mrs. E. Gordon Dickie |
Past Presidents1974–76 Allene Floyd * |
Scholar Update: Oceanographer Amy Baco-Taylor
“Because most species in the deep sea are slow growing and long-lived, deep-sea species are actually more vulnerable to human impacts than many shallow-water ecosystems.”
– 1999 Honolulu ARCS Scholar Dr. Amy Baco-Taylor, explaining the importance of her research on deep sea ecosystems in a Q&A on the Florida State University website where she is now a professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science. Read the profile
To Quote a Scholar: Mason Russo
"I have conducted comprehensive studies on two invasive insect pests in the Hawaiian Islands that are severely impacting Hawaiian ecosystems. The coconut rhinoceros beetle is spreading fast across Oahu and has reached other islands. The hala scale impacts native coastal hala forests."
Besides offsetting the high cost of living in Hawai‘i, funds from the 2024 Maybelle F. Roth ARCS Scholar and Honolulu Scholar of the Year awards would allow Mason Russo to return to Asia if an initial survey produces promising biological control agents for the battle against destructive insects that threaten Hawai‘i trees.
Scholar Update: Marine Biologist Shayle Matsuda
“The increasing frequency and severity of global coral bleaching events, the devastation to reef ecosystems and the communities who rely on them led to my dedication to coral reef conservation.”
As a University of Hawai‘i at Manoa doctoral candidate, 2019 Honolulu ARCS Scholar Shayle Matsuda pioneered new molecular techniques to study symbioses between coral, algae and bacteria. He continues that work as part of an international coral reef restoration project under a 2021 David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship—a premier postdoctoral program in conservation science that supports early-career scientists and seeks solutions to the most pressing conservation challenges.