Research at UH Hilo
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo faculty conduct place-based, applied research of short- and long- term benefit to the people of Hawaiʻi Island and the state. For example:
- UH Hilo faculty do world class research on indigenous languages that helps promote the revitalization of the Hawaiian language and culture.
- Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Sciences (TCBES) researchers study the history of evolution of species in Hawaiʻi, the impacts of climate change on land and in coastal waters, and do research on ways to mitigate climate change and pollution.
- The Astronomy faculty have access to the world’s finest telescopes on Maunakea and their goal is to have the best undergraduate astronomy program in the world.
- UH Hilo faculty in the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources, are doing research on alternative energy and agribusiness.
- The Marine Science faculty conduct a diversity of research projects in coastal environments around Hawaii Island and throughout the Pacific region. For example, the MEGA Lab conducts multiscale environmental graphical analysis with emphasis on coral health.
- Data Science Projects at UH Hilo. There are numerous research opportunities in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) at UH Hilo.
Some of UH Hilo’s laboratories include:
- Agricultural Farm Laboratory: 110-acre farm for teaching & research
- Analytical Laboratory: Supporting ecological research & water quality studies
- Geoarchaeology Laboratory: Non-destructive analyses of basalt & volcanic glass artifacts
- Hawaiian Medium Laboratory Schools: Hawaiian language immersion education
- Evolutionary Genomics Core Facility: Service laboratory with technical training sessions in genetics, DNA sequencing, DNA fragment separation, and detection services
- Laboratory for Theraputic Sciences: Research on human physiological, anthropometric, biometric systems
- Pacific Aquaculture & Coastal Resource Center: Long-term sustainable use and conservation of coastal areas worldwide through aquaculture and resource management.
- Spatial Data Analysis & Visualization Labs: Specializing in advancing Hawaiʻi-based scientific research through utilizing the latest technology for spatial and temporal analysis and visualization.
Learn More
- Learn more about faculty research and scholarly activity at Keaohou, an online publication of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
- Learn more about grant development:
- Introduction to proposal development at UH Hilo: Slides (Powerpoint, updated January 2024) & Q&A (PDF)
- Workshop recording about The Implementation Group (TIG)
- Learn more about Undergraduate Research and Training Programs.
- UH Hilo Office of Research Plan 2024-2030 (also available as Word document]