The University of Hawai‘i at Manoa's Life Sciences Building has been named in honor of 2000 ARCS Scientist of the Year Dr. Isabella Abbott. The late "Izzy" Abbott is known as "first lady of limu" for her pioneering work not only in identifying 200 species of limu (marine algae), but in championing Hawaiian language and culture in species nomenclature. The award-winning G.P. Wilder Professor of Botany was the first kanaka maoli (native Hawaiian) woman to earn a PhD and first person of color to become a full professor at Stanford University. She established the Ethnobotony program at UH Manoa, teaching thousands of students and continuing to work in her laboratory until shortly before her death at age 91 in 2010.