Armando García-Ortega, Professor of Aquaculture
Professor García-Ortega’s research shows that vegetarian diets can be fed not only to carnivorous fish, but to all commercially farmed fish.
Stan Nakanishi, Associate Professor of Biology
In a long-term study conducted in Associate Professor Nakanishi’s lab, the goal is to contribute to a better appreciation of native Hawaiian medicine and discover new treatments for modern diseases.
Justina Mattos, Associate Professor of Drama
Associate Professor Justina Mattos’s areas of expertise are in new play development, and theatrical history and criticism, focused particularly on the local theatre of Hawaiʻi.
Su-Mi Lee, Associate Professor of Political Science
Associate Professor Lee researches international conflict management, including negotiation and mediation strategies, and space politics. She also is collecting biographies of Peace Corps volunteers with ties to Hawaiʻi Island.
Travis Mandel, Associate Professor of Computer Science
Associate Professor Mandel is an expert in Human-In-the-Loop Artificial Intelligence, a data-driven process that improves models and algorithms through human intervention and contribution to create better and more accurate AI.
Jean Ippolito, Professor of Art
Professor Ippolito’s area of expertise is in new media art of Japan and China. Her research explores the nature of non-narrative interactive and performance art in today’s digital media realm.
Ellen Meiser, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Assistant Professor Meiser’s research areas are in food studies and the restaurant business, notably on violence and abuse in the workplace.
Peter Mills, Professor of Anthropology
Professor Peter Mills’s areas of expertise are in archaeology, colonialism in the Pacific, stone tool analysis, and heritage management.
Francisco Perlas Dumanig, Associate Professor of English
Associate Professor Dumanig’s research focuses on family language policy of Filipinos in Hawaiʻi, education and language in the Philippines, and caregivers’ interaction with elderly patients in adult residential care homes.
Kathryn Besio, Professor of Geography and Environmental Sciences
Professor Besio’s areas of expertise are in human geography with a focus on feminist geographies and qualitative research methods. She also investigates research ethics, home gardens, and local foods.
Andrey Simonov, Associate Professor of Accounting
Associate Professor Simonov’s research addresses local challenges and concerns, contributing to the sustainable development of the island and state.
Margary Martin, Associate Professor of Education
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, Associate Professor of Marine Science
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.
Seri Luangphinith, Professor of English
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.
Todd Inouye, Associcate Professor of Management
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.
Misty Pacheco, Professor of Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences
Associate Professor Pacheco studies sexual and reproductive health, specifically, pelvic inflammatory disease, chlamydia, HIV/AIDS, and cesarean delivery rates.
Li Tao, Associate Professor of Biology
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.
Yoshiko Okuyama, Professor of Japanese Studies
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.
Sarah Marusek, Professor of Political Science
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.
Tracy Wiegner, Professor of Marine Science
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.
