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Support from donors unleashes the incredible potential of a brilliant researcher. It is the partnership between donor, faculty, and students that creates new knowledge and transforms lives in Hawaiʻi and the world.

Each day, hundreds of faculty members and students throughout the state are engaged in groundbreaking research in areas as diverse as astronomy, cancer studies, teacher training and education, ethnic and cultural studies, government and public policies, ocean and earth science, international relations, high technology development, and business development in general.

In an increasingly competitive world, universities cannot rely solely on government funding to support research. It is the investment and vision of private donors that fuels the groundbreaking stages of research – research that may then be supported by government funding.

Transforming Education in Hawai‘i and Abroad

The newly-established Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education uses an innovative approach to teach philosophy to Hawai‘i children. 

Retirement Hobby Helps Botany Program

Dr. Daniel Palmer’s donation of more than 2,700 fern specimens to the UH botanical specimen repository will help broaden our knowledge of Hawai‘i’s ferns.

Discovery Channel Touts UH “Jellyfish Lady”

The Jellyfish Lady. That’s what the Discovery Channel calls Dr. Angel Yanagihara of JABSOM. Learn about her research and an ointment she calls “the sting stopper.”

Dieter and Annette Mueller-Dombois

Together, they have made a bequest to the University of Hawai‘i. The Dieter and Annette Mueller-Dombois Endowed Fellowship will be established from a portion of their estate. As stated in the gift agreement, this fellowship will fund "graduate or post-doctoral research at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa College of Natural Sciences, Department of Botany in the area of island ecosystems and vegetation ecology."

Opening Doors for Graduate Students

“A big mahalo to the donors who help graduate students like me with their research!” —Aurora Tsai, applied linguistics student at UH Mānoa

Confocal Microscope Turns Science into Art

Corals are beautiful when seen through your own eyes in sunlight, but for UH Mānoa scientists, seeing corals in this manner is not enough. Watch the video.

Encouraging Young Neuroscientists to Shine

The Miyawaki Family “Trainee in Neuroscience” Award Endowment at JABSOM recognizes outstanding scholarship in the neurosciences.

An Oceanographic Research Legacy

Thanks to Denise Evans's generosity and foresight, generations of ocean researchers will know her name and kindness.

Transforming Our Community Through Students and Research

An inspired donor’s gift will fund scholarships for underrepresented students, expand our knowledge of the universe, save Hawai‘i's endangered plants and more.

Safeguarding Captured Moments of Okinawan History

How did UH Mānoa come to own the finest Ryukyuan (indigenous Okinawan) collection of materials in the United States?

Research from Cellular to Global Scale

In 2008 Professor David Karl was named the recipient of a $3.79 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to continue and expand research on the microbial inhabitants of the world's oceans. 

The Frontier of Modern Biological Science

Coral reef ecosystems provide value to coastal communities at an estimated net benefit of $29.8 billion a year from tourism, fisheries, coastal protection, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.