"New Consciousness, New Knowledge" │UH Hilo Faculty Research & Scholarly Activity
With an eye toward equity in action, Associate Professor of Education Martin’s research focuses on how policies and practices in education impede or facilitate the healthy social and emotional development and wellbeing of children and youth.
John Burns is a research scientist primarily studying coral health and disease with special focus on investigating the physiological impacts of disease on affected corals and how coral mortality affects the ecology and biology of coral reef ecosystems.
Professor Luangphinith’s area of expertise is in the literature of Hawaiʻi, but she is actively developing an expertise in local Korean history and oral histories of Hawaiʻi Island.
Assistant Professor Inouye’s research interests are two-fold: in teaching methods, and in examining how contextual boundary conditions like diversity, gender, or public policy affect the strategies of small business managers and owners.
Associate Professor Pacheco studies sexual and reproductive health, specifically, pelvic inflammatory disease, chlamydia, HIV/AIDS, and cesarean delivery rates.
One of the main goals of Knope’s research program is integrating the way biologists study living organisms with the way fossil organisms are studied, so that direct comparisons can be made between the modern and the ancient.
Associate Professor Tao is investigating mechanisms of cell division to provide clues for cancer treatment. His ultimate goal is to find an effective way to cure cancer.
Professor Okuyama is studying mythology, semiotics, and deaf studies. She also conducts research on deaf adolescents’ texting and has published a series of papers on the topic.
Professor Marusek specializes in legal geography, legal semiotics, and constitutive legal theory within the disciplinary field of public law. She explores places and spaces to better understand law and legality.
Professor Wiegner’s research focuses on microbial pollution from sewage. Specifically, she assesses the impact of humans on water quality in fresh and marine environments.
The Jarvi laboratory investigates parasite influences on infectious disease. The lab team currently has two main areas of investigation: avian pathogens and rat lungworm disease.
Professor Tsang helped save Hawai‘i export market with innovative, non-chemical pest and pathogen treatments. He was part of a research team that received the 2010 Governor’s Award as State Team of the Year for developing hot water systems for disinfesting exports.
Associate Professor Becker examines the ways communication contributes to the transformation of organizational, cultural, or family systems. She was the first in academia to test Cultural Convergence Theory in Japan.
Professor Kimura is the internationally renowned “grandfather” of Hawaiian language revitalization. His decades of work can be traced back to the conception of core foundational educational programs in the 1980s that launched the rebirth of the Hawaiian language.
Professor Simmons is a poet who studies Shakespeare, teaches literature and film. She specializes in modern literature and film with her most recent research being on Shakespearean tragedy in performance.
Professor Morrison researches women’s health and domestic violence in Hilo. Recently, Prof. Morrison shifted her research interests toward the intersection of human health and animal welfare.
Professor Juarez researches ethnic disparities in medication adherence. Her work also focuses on cost-effectiveness of cardiovascular interventions and health disparities, particularly involving Asian and Pacific Americans.
Professor Mathews is best known for his research on nutrient cycling in tropical pastures and potentially environmentally sensitive release of phosphorus from pasture soils to surface waters.
Associate Professor Feng researches the interplay of Chinese architecture and literature. His research interests include the history of Chinese art and architecture and the transmission of technical knowledge.
Professor Hirokawa’s scholarship has contributed to the development of a theory called the “functional perspective,” identified as one of the three most influential theories of small group communication.
