INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TEAMS

CORAL CRYOPRESERVATION

In collaboration with the Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology and the University of Minnesota, a team of UH students spent 5 months exploring commercial potential and market feasibility for a cyro freezing device. The device, which was built and designed by engineering students from the University of Minnesota, allows scientists to freeze coral sperm and easily transport it to coral preservation labs around the world.

HAWAII GROWN TEA STUDY

In collaboration with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, three students (Jie Gonsowski, Elyse Petersen and Aurencio Seguritan), spent the summer of 2011 researching the feasibility of large-scale farming and production of tea in Hawai‘i. The report suggests that tea grown in Hawai‘i has the ability to attain premium prices if marketed properly thereby making it a potentially profitable crop. The report was presented to State legislators on September 12, where it was very well received.