Aloha mai kākou alumni and friends of the College of Natural Sciences! It’s been an exciting year for CNS and I’m thrilled to share some of the highlights with you.

UH Mānoa is embarking on several new, exciting strategic initiatives, and it is no surprise that science and CNS are central to many of them. This includes initiatives on Sustainability, Micro-Biome and Data Science. The latter was initiated by three faculty from CNS – Jason Leigh in Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), Gwen Jacobs in Biology and Information Technology Services (ITS), and Mahdi Belcaid in ICS and School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology(SOEST)– and resulted in the creation of a new Hawai‘i Institute for Data and Computation (HIDaC). We are in the process of hiring several new faculty to support this new institute which will house exciting educational programs at all levels as well as interdisciplinary research opportunities.

On the academic side, the Departments of Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics & Astronomy are piloting a new program to promote student success in introductory science courses. The Learning Assistant (LA) program brings specially-trained undergraduates into lower level classes as peer mentors. Results in trial classrooms have been amazing: student scores in LA-supported courses have risen, with the number of A’s and B’s doubling and the failure rate falling dramatically, and LA peer mentors have been gaining valuable experience, improved confidence, and increased interest in science as a result of their involvement. We hope to expand this successful program to more courses across the college.

As I enter my third year as Dean of CNS, I continue to be impressed with the spirit of generosity and creativity in everyone in the CNS ‘ohana. Thank you for your support of all we do.

Mahalo nui loa,
Aloysius “Loek” Helminck

The College of Natural Sciences serves 2500 students and there are three outstanding programs at CNS dedicated to supporting students that I want to share with you, as we move rapidly towards a new calendar year:

• Learning Assistant Program. As Dean Helminck said, we are excited about the new Learning Assistant Program (LAP) which brings specially trained undergraduates into lower level classes to serve as peer mentors. We have done some test runs of the program, and grades in LAP classrooms have improved: A’s and B’s have doubled, and the failure rate has fallen dramatically. Our LA’s also receive valuable experience in communicating science to others, an asset to their current studies and future careers.
• Learning Emporium. The Learning Emporium is a one-stop, multidisciplinary STEM learning space where students can join a community with similar interests and help each other strengthen their knowledge of and familiarity with material covered in the first two years of STEM curriculum.
• Residential Learning Program. The Residential Learning Program is home to 52 freshmen in majors across the college. The freshmen participate in a variety of co-curricular Natural Sciences-related programs. A highlight is a trip to the Big Island, where students are immersed in Natural Sciences activities like a tour of the telescopes on Mauna Kea, snorkeling in some of the pristine waters near Hilo, exploring Volcanoes National Park (once again open to the public), and so much more.

More than ever, your support of CNS and our students is a vital part of our ongoing success and flourishing. Thank you for all you have done to support us, and I ask that you consider ways to support CNS in the new year.

It has been a pleasure to get to know some of you over these past two years, and I look forward to meeting more of you as the years go by. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions about how to make an impact through your giving or about how UHF is working to raise support for the important work CNS is doing at UH Mānoa and across the State of Hawaiʻi.

Mahalo for your support!
Karla Zarate-Ramirez
karla.zarate-ramirez@uhfoundation.org
808-956-2906