From NASA to the Pacific: Kelly Luis is reimagining Marine Science at UH Hilo

Coming home was never just a career move for Kelly Luis — it was a mission. After leaving NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to join the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, she is now redefining marine science by uniting satellite-level precision with the deep wisdom of the Kumulipo.

Assistant Professsor Kelly Luis, PhD, joins UH Hilo’s Marine Science Department with a mission to strengthen curriculum through the lens of mālama ʻāina and community responsibility.

For Luis — a Kamehameha Schools Maui graduate, Columbia University alumnus, and former NASA Postdoctoral Fellow and JPL Research Scientist — UH Hilo offered something no other institution could match.

“I never dreamed of going to NASA. The thing I dreamed about is coming home to serve,” Luis reflects. “To return home for this type of mission is so humbling, and I feel very grateful.”

Legacy-building at CNHS

The College of Natural and Health Sciences is formalizing a new biocultural framework that deepens the university’s commitment to mālama ʻāina by bridging the gap between high-level marine science and ancestral wisdom. It’s not just about adding courses; it’s about grounding students in the ʻāina as deeply as they are in scientific inquiry.

“Kelly brings a unique expertise that will help us connect emerging technologies with place-based knowledge,” explains John H. R. Burns, Ph.D., Chair of Marine Science. “She will help us strengthen relationships with communities and create new opportunities for students to engage in research that connects their cultural identity with their scientific work.”

Luis looking at observations from uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) in the control room of a research vessel during the Schmidt Ocean Institute Sea-Surface Microlayer-2 cruise.

A Powerful Biocultural Vision

The true significance of Luis’s position lies in its biocultural framework — a dynamic bridge between cutting-edge Western science and ancestral Hawaiian wisdom. Having utilized satellite remote sensing and airborne NASA campaigns to map coral reefs and assess coastal water quality, Luis understands that scientific inquiry reaches its highest potential when diverse knowledge systems unite.

Luis during a dive to identify past storm events impact as an National Science Foundation undergraduate research intern based at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute in Little Cayman.

“All of these things I really care about — working in communities, doing research in a respectful way, but also having this freedom to bring together different perspectives — this biocultural framing lends itself to a welcoming space for people to bring who they are to study these really grand oceanographic and environmental challenges,” Luis explains.

This ethos directly transforms student learning. In her Intro to Hawaiian Coral Reefs course, Luis pairs biological classifications with the Kumulipo creation chant, helping students understand organisms through both scientific frameworks and Hawaiian cultural context. Fieldwork begins not just with instruments, but with setting clear personal intentions and grounding oneself in the environment.

“If I can get you comfortable with being open to multiple perspectives now, then that’s what you’re going to experience along your career journey,” Luis says. “How you shape your voice and your understanding of yourself in relation to that — that’s one of the best gifts I can give you.”

Elevating UH Hilo’s Distinction

Luis’s arrival underscores the extraordinary caliber of faculty choosing UH Hilo. Bringing elite computational expertise, ongoing NASA JPL research affiliations, and deep cultural grounding, she exemplifies UH Hilo’s standing as an institution where high-level scientific rigor meets community responsibility.

Luis collecting sea and sky obeservations on the deck of one of NASA’s Submesoscale Ocean Dynamic Experiment campaigns research vessels.

Rather than seeing herself as a singularity, Luis views her role as opening doors for future generations. “I don’t want to be known as the only bioculturist at UH,” she notes. “I hope I’m opening the doors for many others to follow.”

Through faculty like Luis, UH Hilo continues to demonstrate that the future of marine science isn't just observed from space — it is cultivated right here, rooted in ʻāina, community, and culture.

Right before starting her PhD program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston — Luis volunteered to support the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage and was invited to guest sail on Hōkūleʻa from Boston to Salem.