Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Hawai'i
Investing in Multidisciplinary University Activities (IMUA) through NSF Hawaii EPSCoR
In 2001, UH Hilo initiated the federally-funded Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research planning grant to boost research competitiveness and workforce development in scientific fields throughout the state of Hawaii. Chancellor Rose Tseng served first as chair and now serves as co-chair of the Hawaii EPSCoR State Committee that oversees and provides direction for the statewide program. Undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral scholars engage in interdisciplinary research in the fields of Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics (EEG), Ecosystem Responses to Environmental Change (EREC), and Cyberinfrastructure for Environmental Research and Education (CERE). The grant also funds Outreach, Education, and Human Resources Development (OEHRD) programs with the long range goal of increasing underrepresented populations in STEM careers as well as Workforce Development (WD) activities aimed at increasing economic development spurred by the research activities of IMUA NSF EPSCoR.
Hawaii's second Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) project continues its work in the same spirit as it was begun, using the acronym of IMUA and keeping in mind the meaning of that word in the Hawaiian language: to move forward with strength and purpose. The project builds on the success of the first NSF EPSCoR (RII) implementation phase to advance specific research opportunities in ecology, evolution and cyberinfrastructure that are of high priority to the State and the UH System. Specifically, Hawaii's second RII Plan presents a research agenda that promotes responsible stewardship of Hawaii's ecosystems while enabling its people to assume their roles as technologically literate, critically thinking citizens in the 21st century workforce. In partnership with the State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT), UH will leverage IMUA II to promote what Governor Linda Lingle has emphasized as an "opportunity for environmental responsibility to be an economic force" for the State.
A major goal of the current RII project is to improve Hawaii's research infrastructure under the overarching theme of "Collaborative Research for Ecology, Evolution and Cyberinfrastructure". The Hawaiian Islands are renowned as ideal settings for evolution and speciation studies. A site of spectacular species radiations representing all stages of the diversification process, Hawaii provides an exceptional natural laboratory for investigating the ecological and genetic factors underlying speciation and adaptation to diverse natural and altered habitats.
Because the geological evolution of the main islands is well documented, it is possible to accurately date genetic divergence times with known geologic events. There is no other place on earth where this can be done as easily or as comprehensively. On a different scale, understanding the functioning of ecosystems, interactions of species within them, and the links among terrestrial, aquatic, and marine systems in both intact and altered ecosystems is critical for sustaining the long-term health of our global environment.
Hawaii offers unprecedented opportunities for comparative ecological studies in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine systems at many levels of disturbance. It has the greatest number of endangered and invasive species of any state in the nation, making it an ideal location to study impacts of habitat alteration and invasive species on endangered populations. Sound management of the Hawaiian Islands' rich biodiversity, including protection of rare and endangered species, will require an understanding of the evolutionary and ecological processes that generate and maintain this diversity.
During IMUA I, Hawaii enhanced its ability to expand national partnerships in ecology and evolution research, as well as to generate a diverse high-tech workforce that can help protect and sustain its dynamic yet fragile environment. The addition of a cyberinfrastructure program integrating ecology and evolution in IMUA II further expands the state's ability to train technologically competent technicians that can address critical agricultural, resource management, and cultural conservation challenges currently facing both Hawaii and the Nation.
The development strategies employed in this second phase of NSF EPSCoR in Hawaii are designed to augment the State's research infrastructure to a level where it will emerge as an internationally renowned research center - enabling scientific investigators from Hawaii and mainland universities, federal and state agencies, and private industry to pioneer innovative research programs that will provide multiple environmental protection and economic diversification benefits to all participants. Building on the significant infrastructure improvements of IMUA I, the current project will substantially enhance the understanding and protection of Hawaii's natural environment while establishing the state as a leader in ecology and evolution research, thereby serving as a model for environmentally sound research that provides proactive stewardship.
For more information about this project, please feel free to contact out Project Administrator, Ms. Terrilani Chong, at admepscr@hawaii.edu or 808.933.3325.
