We Are Stardust, ARCS Honolulu's 2025 Heart of Gold fundraiser luncheon was held at Outrigger Canoe Club on Monday Feb. 10. It featured the 2025 Honolulu ARCS Scientist of the Year presentation to computer scientist and retired University of Hawai‘i System President Dr. David Lassner, a talk by NASA exobiologist Dr. David Blake (who was introduced in Valentine fashion his wife, ARCS Honolulu member Dr. Carol Stratford), and a stellar silent auction to raise funds for ARCS Scholar Awards.
Christie Wilcox, PhD, on her Honolulu ARCS Scholar Award: "The life of a graduate student is not enviable… For me, it was essential. It was what I needed, the kind of funding to pursue these curiosities that I had. And I was grateful for it.” Read more about the the award winning science communicator.
"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.
"The grant will cover travel to one or two conferences that I would not be able to attend otherwise."
2024 Toby Lee ARCS Scholar Lucas Ellison uses data from past droughts to analyze the performance of climate simulation models to better predict the impact of climate change.