Jul 5, 2017 | Education
In May, Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Women in Technology Project presented the 8th Annual Hawaii STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) Conference at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. More than 1,000 students, educators, industry partners and community leaders throughout the state and the nation participated in this year’s theme, Download Knowledge, Upload Service. Hands-on STEM activities, competitions, and access to the latest technologies showcased the student’s skills. The conference featured over 40 student and teacher breakout sessions, 14 software competitions, a STEM playground, a formal awards banquet called “The Stemmy’s”, and exhibit presentations.
“Virtually every field in every sector of the economy, whether a small business or major industry, needs STEM professionals,” said Leslie Wilkins, MEDB President. “Preparing our youth to be resilient, well-educated and self-directed learners is at the heart of all MEDB’s STEMworks™ programs. That is what this conference is all about.”
Jadynne Zane, Maui Waena Intermediate School 8th grader said, “Our school won an award in the Project Impact Assessment (PIA) competition. In a designated amount of time, we had to explain to the judges how our STEM club daily demonstrates teamwork, self-directed learning, and critical thinking, and how we interact with the community. One example was about a STEMworks™ team member who created an app that would allow Cystic Fibrosis patients to communicate with each other and their doctors.”
“Allowing the students to select what they are proud of and plan how to present it to a panel of judges is absolutely real life and powerful,” said Jennifer Suzuki, media teacher at Maui Waena School. “They have to organize, work together, and succinctly convey their information. This was just another example of what students can do when they are given the opportunity.”
Caleb Soo Hoo, a senior at Baldwin High School and co-winner, with Chris Kau, of the On-Site Video Competition, concluded, “There are no boundaries when we have the chance to create our own projects. To see our visions realized is the best kind of feeling!”
STEM education has taught me there are no limits to what I can do. Thank you MEDB!
Jadynne Zane, Maui Waena Intermediate 8th grader
Jun 28, 2017 | Education, Stemworks
Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), celebrating their 35th Anniversary, will hold the Annual Benefit Dinner and Auction, Pathways to Our Future, on Saturday August 26 at the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui. Thanks to donors of MEDB’s Ke Alahele Education Fund, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education is empowering students and teachers throughout Maui County.
“MEDB envisions lives fulfilled in a vibrant economy within the very special culture of Hawaii,” said Graham DeVey, MEDB Program Manager. “An example is Alana Yurkanin, Assistant Marine Coordinator at The Nature Conservancy. Years ago, Yurkanin came to Baldwin High School with a variety of talents and interests, and joined one of MEDB’s after-school STEM programs, Future Scientists and Engineers of America (FSEA). By senior year she’d become FSEA chapter co-president and led a team to victory at UH Engineering Expo, winning international praise for her multi-year science fair project working with sharks.”
“Something about choosing to sit with a group of friends after school in this club opened me up to my own exploration of science,” said Yurkanin. “I felt empowered to ask my own questions and look at my life through a scientific lens. Our time at FSEA allowed us to create electric circuits, simulate the technology used to map the surface of Mars, build and test trebuchets, and parachute eggs from a three-story building. I got to thinking, maybe science wasn’t so scary – it was actually fun and approachable.
“Most of the funding for FSEA came from an organization that especially wanted to engage girls in the sciences, MEDB’s Women In Technology (WIT) Project,” Yurkanin recalled. “I remember WIT staffers visiting our class. I felt so inspired to see women as leaders in this technical field and so appreciative for their encouragement. WIT created incentives for kids to get involved in after-school STEM programs by providing funding for travel and lab materials. I feel that because of this experience, I can now give back to Hawai‘i in meaningful ways!”
MEDB’s STEM programs teach students to pitch in to improve our island environment, working mauka or makai.
Alana Yurkanin, The Nature Conservancy Assistant Marine Coordinator
Jun 21, 2017 | Community
Bill Giebink, Maui High physical science teacher and the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy (IfA) Project Coordinator for their South Pole Project, recently visited the South Pole Solar Observatory (SPSO) in Antarctica. Giebink, one of a team of four, deployed to South Pole Station to assemble and test the instruments he helped build at IfA to record high-resolution images of the Sun. “I worked on the optical alignment, software development and general troubleshooting,” said Giebink. “The instruments installed at the South Pole log high-resolution images of the Sun every five seconds at two different heights in the sun’s atmosphere. The goals of the project are to measure and characterize internal gravity waves in the Sun’s atmosphere, identify the role of these waves in transporting energy and momentum, and use the properties of these waves to provide a mapping of the structure and dynamics of the Sun’s atmosphere.”
The acquired data will also have applications in several other areas of interest in solar physics, including studying the triggers of space weather events, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which have direct societal impact. “The instruments are mapping the Sun’s sub-surface structure and dynamics, and investigate the solar coronal heating enigma,” said Giebink. “It is a long-standing puzzle why the temperature of the Sun’s atmosphere rises from about 6,000 degrees at its visible surface, the photosphere, to a few million degrees in its outer atmosphere, the corona.”
“It was a challenge to set up and run our experiment in such a difficult environment,” Giebink explained. “However, I got to work with a great team. We traveled by snowmobile to and from our field site each day. The group of four worked as two-person teams, each covering 12-hour shifts at SPSO. It was an unforgettable trip that not many people get to experience. I also enjoyed sharing pictures and stories with my Maui High students. They really liked the idea of tasting the 2,000 year old melted ice that I brought back!”
MEDB continuously supports our Maui High students with the necessary STEM tools to reach for the stars! One day my students will take part in an extraordinary South Pole experience!
Bill Giebink, Maui High School Physical Science Teacher, IfA SPSO Project Coordinator
Jun 14, 2017 | Education
HNu Photonics, a multi-award-winning Maui-based technology company, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Since its founding, the company has been recognized repeatedly as one of the fastest growing companies in Hawaii. They have taken innovative ideas and transformed them into cutting-edge technologies for commercial, scientific and military applications. The focus of HNu is renewable energy, defense photonics, specialized optics, and medical imaging capabilities.
“HNu has already introduced revolutionary advances in each of these areas,” said founder and CEO Dan O’Connell. “Our core area, solar energy, is now providing enormous quantities of clean, renewable energy in our state.” With 18 patents to his credit, O’Connell and his team have won numerous awards for expertise in technological achievement. HNu has made major efficiency breakthroughs in solar energy generation. “Moreover, HNu Photonics has ventured considerably beyond producing state-of-the-art renewable energy systems,” said O’Connell. For example, HNu has designed and installed the highest-power battery designed for use aboard the International Space Station.
In 2013, the HNu nanoPoint Division exhibited its patented microfluidic system in the state-supported Hawaii Pavilion at the BIO Conference in Chicago. “We were eventually selected to deliver two full space-ready microfluidic systems to NASA, one for deployment aboard the ISS and the other for astronaut training,” said O’Connell.
HNu has a long-standing relationship with Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB). They have partnered with MEDB on a number of initiatives, including collaboration on the electric vehicle project between Japan and Hawaii called JUMPSmart Maui, which includes a network of vehicle charging stations across Maui designed and built by HNu. “We continue to partner with MEDB and UH Maui College to help develop Maui’s future high-technology workforce,” O’Connell said. “Now a leader in many sectors of renewable energy, HNu’s Energy Division employs ground-breaking technology to custom-engineer efficient, eco-friendly homes, businesses, utilities, and communities. Our exemplary team of talented people is committed to a great cause and a great future.”
The company name HNu is derived from the physics formula that defines the energy contained in one photon of light (E=h*nu).
Dan O’Connell, CEO, HNu-Photonics
Jun 7, 2017 | Education, Stemworks
MacKelan Mitchell, a King Kekaulike High School senior, wants to be an aerospace engineer. Luckily, he also happens to be a student in Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Women in Technology (WIT) STEMworks™ Laboratory. “WIT’s program helps students gain real world experience in a career they are pursuing,” said Mapu Quitazol, MEDB Project Manager. “Mitchell wanted to learn from experts about what they do in their career and what college courses got them where they are. We are fortunate to have a handful of specialists at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) like Senior Aerospace Engineer, Dr. Kim Luu.”
Dr. Luu, who works at AFRL’s Directed Energy Directorate, has been honored by the Air Force for her leadership and management of critical Department of Defense Space Situational Awareness research programs. Dr. Luu has over 20 years experience and is internationally recognized for her technical expertise in satellite characterization, astrodynamics, and space debris.
“It was really great to be able to job-shadow Dr. Luu for a day,” said Mitchell. “She explained about the different aspects of a career in aerospace engineering and what courses will help prepare me in the field. To be honest, I didn’t actually know that there were so many different branches to the space side of engineering.”
Additionally, Mitchell accompanied Dr. Luu to Wailuku to help set up the AFRL portable planetarium for a STEMworks™ outreach event for elementary and middle school students. “The digital planetarium teaches students how to understand astronomical coordinate systems, and how to use significant points to find stars, planets, and even satellites,” said Mitchell. “I learned the importance of ground-based astronomy across the world. After we looked at the night sky in the planetarium, we played a short film about the Curiosity Mars Rover landing and one about going back to the Moon.”
“My day of job-shadowing was very enlightening,” said Mitchell. “I’m thankful to MEDB and WIT for the hands-on opportunities they offer students in the most current technologies.”
Students in STEMworks™ labs are afforded the opportunity to work with local industry partners and gain skills ranging from animation to computer-aided design to engineering design and more.
Mapu Quitazol, MEDB Project Manager
