Return to Coconut Island
ARCS Foundation Honolulu Chapter started with a meeting on Coconut Island, where Barbara Pauley, a charter member of the Los Angeles Founding Chapter. She and her husband enjoyed visiting with Univeristy of Hawai‘i scientists working on the state-owned perimeter while staying at their vacation home on the island's interior. The ARCS Honolulu Chaoter provided $2.5 million for UH graduate students in STEM fields in the 50 years following that 1974 meeting. And Pauley later re-purchased the privately held portion of the island and gifted it to the university for expansion of the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology. Honolulu members returned to the island for a tour and picnic with guests attending the January 2024 National Board Meeting in Honolulu.
Dr. Mark Hixon on ARCS Scientist Honor
"I am especially grateful that ARCS Honolulu appreciates the mentoring of graduate students, who are society’s future scientists during an era when science is increasingly under attack."
ARCS Honolulu Chapter named marine ecologist Dr. Mark Hixon its 2021 ARCS Scientist of the Year for his remarkable record of research, mentorship and public outreach. He is the Sidney and Erika Hsiao Endowed Chair in Marine Biology and chairs the Zoology Graduate Program at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Photo by Chris Pala
To Quote a Scholar: Benjamin Wiseman
"I hustle to make sure that my expenses are covered, often working part-time jobs to make ends meet. Receiving this award means that I can place greater focus on my academic research work."
2024 Helen Jones Farrar ARCS Scholar Ben Wiseman quantifies nematodes to study soil health and explores new cover crops as an effective, sustainable way to control the pest in sweet potato fields.
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.