Video: UH Hilo student-led marine science research team takes second place in nationwide U.S. Dept of Energy algae competition
The research of students Lauren Runnels and Ian O’Hollaren, mentored by Professor of Marine Science Karla McDermid, focuses on an innovative cultivation method of a Hawaiian seaweed that has the potential to boost commercial limu production statewide.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
A research team of two University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo students and their professor has won second place in a nationwide competition of the U.S. Department of Energy.
After a 15-month-long competition process, the team of students Lauren Runnels and Ian O’Hollaren, mentored by Professor of Marine Science Karla McDermid, learned of the prestigious recognition at the AlgaePrize Grand Champion Competition Weekend hosted by the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado, July 18-20.
Their AlgaePrize project, “Up-cycled Vertical Bag Culture of Halymenia” conducted at UH Hilo’s Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center (PACRC), focuses on an innovative cultivation method of a Hawaiian limu (seaweed) named limu lepe o Hina (Halymenia hawaiiana) that has the potential to boost commercial limu production statewide.
“This work was possible because of the running seawater, infrastructure, and generosity of the PACRC faculty and staff,” says McDermid.
McDermid, who received the UH Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 2010, is an expert in the taxonomy of Hawaiian seaweeds and seagrasses. Runnels graduated from UH Hilo in May 2025 with a bachelor of science in marine science and minor in chemistry and is now a graduate student at the University of Utah. O’Hollaren received his bachelor of science in agriculture with a tropical horticulture specialty from UH Hilo in 2013, and after establishing and running a global seaweed supply business in California for 10 years, returned to his alma mater in 2023 for a master of science in tropical conservation biology and environmental science; he is currently writing his thesis and expected to graduate from the master’s program in December.
A 15-month competition
The Aloha Limu cultivation project was launched in February 2024 at UH Hilo’s Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center when the research team was selected as one of 15 finalist teams out of dozens of applicants for the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023-2025 AlgaePrize.
Those 15 student-led teams from across the country were each awarded a $10,000 prize to support their projects for the 2023-2025 competition. In choosing the finalists, the selection committee looked for research project ideas founded in innovative and novel solutions in algae production, processing, and new product development. The teams were given 15 months to carry out their research.
During those months, Runnels and O’Hollaren, under the mentorship of Prof. McDermid, implemented their innovative seaweed cultivation design, with the limu grown out in tall, narrow, up-cycle wire towers with soft plastic liners. The technique is a new approach to scale-up seaweed production while minimizing space constraints on terrestrial landscapes and small-footprint farms, say the researchers. The growth rate outcomes were highly successful.
The 15-month project then culminated in July at the AlgaePrize Grand Champion Competition Weekend held at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado.
“The Competition Weekend almost didn’t happen because of changes in the federal government,” says McDermid. “However, the DOE got the green light and in Golden, Colorado, July 18-20, 2025, we presented our poster, PowerPoint presentation, 25-page report, and video.”
The team is jubilant with the results: They won second place as one of five Champion Teams from across the country and received another $10,000.
“Vertical bag culture of limu with a recirculating sea water system could be a boon for small farms in Hawaiʻi or small atolls and islands in the Pacific, or even on spaceship bound for Mars,” says McDermid. “Lauren and Ian represent the next generation, ready to develop real world solutions to shape the global future of algae.”
Next-generation research: an up-cycled vertical cultivation system
Noting that seaweed farming has become the fastest-growing aquaculture sector because of the versatility of macroalgal applications, the UH Hilo team set about anchoring their research in the Indigenous culture of Hawaiʻi.
Prior to Western contact, limu, the Hawaiian word for a plant growing in a wet place, was a regular part of the people’s diet and accompanied most meals. In the summary of their project, the research team notes that “nutritionally, seaweeds were essential in the traditional Hawaiian diet because the limu may have contributed vitamins and important elements not found in the primary food items.”
In 1996, say the researchers, 18 seaweed species were in use, seven of which could be found in fish markets; however, now there are only two genera regularly for sale: Gracilaria and Asparagopsis.
“Only two commercial seaweed farms are currently operating in Hawaiʻi — there is a clear need to diversify opportunities for limu farmers,” they write.
Under the guidance of Professor McDermid, who specializes in limu research, the team cultivated Halymenia hawaiiana, a native species in the Hawaiian Islands. The ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) name, limu lepe o Hina, translates as “the fringe or shawl of Hina.” This red macroalga has foliose tips shaped like leaves with a firm texture. The species has a high protein content of 21% dry weight.
“Our team has conducted market analyses to gauge community interest regarding H. hawaiiana, and preliminary reactions have been positive, which leads us to believe there is a favorable economic future for the macroalga,” write the researchers in their summary.
Noting that terrestrial and aquaponics vertical farming has had success and has increased food production in cities around the world, the Hilo team’s design modifies a common vertical bag system used to cultivate microalgae. While microalgae are often grown in biofilm bags that allow 360 degrees of natural light leading to increased production, the Hilo team cultivated the native, edible species Halymenia hawaiiana in a vertical system up-cycled from previous microalgal culture.
“Vertical farming has many benefits including efficient use of space, year-round food production, controlled environmental conditions, and feasibility for culture in urban areas to provide a fresh nutrient-rich marine product,” write the researchers.
With the goals to 1) provide scientifically tested cultivation information for a native species for commercial applications; 2) to increase the number of native species in cultivation; and 3) to scale-up production of a native species to pilot commercial-scale production, the researchers were successful on all three counts.
“Our project addressed gaps in the knowledge about innovative methods to grow native Hawaiian limu and how to treat post-harvest biomass for market,” concludes the research team. “Our vertical system has achieved an average growth rate of 4.16%, with a maximum of 5.12% increase per day when fertilized with Guillard’s F/2.”
McDermid says work on native Hawaiian limu culture continues at UH Hilo’s Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center.
Related story
UH Hilo marine botanist group launches Limu Ark, a culture collection of native algae
Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
