On October 24, 2023, more than 100 attendees were welcomed to the RCUH Awards Luncheon by RCUH Executive Director Lenny Gouveia. The luncheon, emceed by Hawaii News Now weather anchor, Guy Hagi, honored 20 exemplary employees from projects located on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, and Oʻahu. A selection committee comprised of Peter Adler, Sarah Guay, and Taryn Salmon selected the awardees based on the employee’s:
- Initiative, leadership, and resourcefulness in carrying out their achievements,
- Impact of their achievements on the project, professional field, and/or larger community, and
- Other variables such as the significance or quality of their achievements.
RCUH proudly announces this year’s awardees:
PROJECT SUPPORT STAFF CATEGORY
First Place:
- Jennifer Benitez, Upward Bound, University of Hawaiʻi Maui College
RESEARCHER/PROJECT MANAGER CATEGORY
First Place:
- Derek Risch, Hawaii Wildlife Ecology Lab, UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
Second Place:
- Matthew Widlansky, Sea Level Center, UH School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
Honorable Mention:
- Russell Kackley, Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
- Natalie Wallsgrove, Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory, UH School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
TEAM CATEGORY
First Place (tie):
- Center for Maunakea Stewardship, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
Mark Ellis, Robert Madrigal, Oscar Pouoa, Tommy Waltjen - Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research
Corinne Amir, Jonny Charendoff, Mia Lamirand, Frances Lichowski
Second Place:
- Ola HAWAII, UH John A. Burns School of Medicine
Grace Matsuura, Kimberley Spencer-Tolentino, JoAnn Tsark
Honorable Mention:
- Applied Research Laboratory at UH Maui
Yvette Gurule, Gerry Smith, Kelly Suzuki Payba, Lynette Yamamoto
Nominees videos can be viewed by clicking on each link above. All nominees received a certificate and $50 monetary award. Additionally, first-place awardees received $1,000 (shared equally by team members), while second-place awardees received $500 (shared equally by team members).
We wish to acknowledge and thank the following principal investigators who submitted nominations: Dominic Chow, Nahua Guilloz, Lui Hokoana, Brittany Huntington, Douglas Luther, Tiare Martin, Satoshi Miyazaki, Brian Popp, Melissa Price, Phil Thompson, and Jana Wilkinson.
Congratulations to all!