The Honolulu Chapter annually supports a dozen or more ARCS Scholars through proceeds from endowed funds, donations and chapter fundraising. In early spring, the board determines the number of awards and an allocation committee designates the disciplines to be supported that year. Major donors may designate a preferred field within approved disciplines at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
The chapter notifies officials in the university's Graduate Division, who coordinate with the designated units to select recipients from qualified candidates. The selection process may vary by unit, with some requiring applications or presentations.
To be eliglble to receive an ARCS Scholar Award, nominees must:
As unrestricted awards, funds may be used in any way that advances scholars' research, including equipment, travel, and educational or living expenses. They do not qualify as scholarships for tax purposes.
For more information, contact ARCS Foundation, Honolulu Chapter.
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.
“My research, if successful, would add a new diagnostic toolset for medical professionals to assess risk for those already at a high risk for developing neuropsychiatric disorders.”
Honolulu ARCS Scholar Alexandru Sasuclark received Best Poster Presentation at the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s 2021 Annual Biomedical Sciences and Health Disparities Symposium. The George and Virginia Starbuck ARCS Award receipient studies the role of selenium in development of particular neurons in the brain and the perineuronal net structures that surround them. Disruption in their development is characteristic of many neurodevelopmental diseases. A University of Hawai‘i at Manoa PhD candidate in Cell and Molecular Biology, Alexandru aspires to a career in industry pursuing treatments for neurological ailments.
Read about his inspiration or watch his video