Tradition and Technology
Contact: Debra Nakama < debran@hawaii.edu >
Partners: Tohoku Planetary Science Program
URL: http://maui.hawaii.edu
Tradition and Technology
Maui is home to Science City or more formally known as the Haleakala High Altitude Observatory. Mount Haleakala, the 10,000 feet dormant volcano, dominates Maui’s central plain above green fields of sugarcane. The name Haleakala comes from an ancient Hawaiian myth which describes the demi¬god Maui throwing a fishing net and snaring the sun gradually bringing it down to earth to rest in the crater of the volcano. Haleakala, translated from the Hawaiian language means ” the house of the sun.”
Today’s Mount Haleakala is home to variety of optical, radio, radar, infrared telescopes, listening dishes and sensing instruments and is considered to be one of the best observatories in the world. Included among the many programs is the University of Hawai’i’s Institute for Astronomy (IFA) which has conducted dedicated astrophysical experiments for more than 4 decades. In most cases, there are programs that could not be conducted anywhere else on earth. Currently, the Institute for Astronomy has partners from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Pan¬STARRS consortium, Space Telescope Science Institute, Tohoku University, Japan, the U. S. Air Force and others.
www.ifa.hawaii.edu
The University of Hawai’i reached out to an earth¬quake damaged Japanese observatory in Sendai during the Great Kanto earthquake in 2011. Tohoku University Planetary Science Program requested assistance from the UH IFA and the Institute For Astronomy was able to obtain the re¬use of an existing facility at the Haleakala Observatory to accept the Tohoku 60 centimeter (24 ince) telescope known as the ” T60 “. The observatory now houses the Japanese instruments and will provide data on Mars and planetary atmosphere. Dr. Takahiro Obara, Director of the Tohoku Planetary Science Program noted at the dedication ceremony in 2014:
“We are extremely pleased to take this next step with our partner, the University of Hawai’i. We expect that the many Japanese students and scientists that use this instrument will build an even stronger collaboration between the two institutions.”
Haleakala is considered by Japanese visitors as the Mount Fuji of Hawai’i. Each new year’s morning, many University of Hawai’i Maui College students from Japan travel to the summit for ” Hatsu Hinode ” or first sunrise of the new year. Though the students may be far from home, they feel they can celebrate this annual Japanese tradition atop a modern Hawai’ian technological hub. The future is important for both the United States and Japan. Sharing the latest cutting edge research, collaborations in education and programs that explore space, protect the environment and preserves culture and the arts, strengthen and showcases the ties between our two nations. (jpninfo.com/29845)
Maui is considered to be a pioneer in economic development, high tech research parks, super computers, disaster centers, surveillance centers and conferences that promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for students. One such entity is the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) which hosts the annual AMOS Conference, the premier technical conference in the nation, devoted to space surveillance. The cross section of military, contractor and academic participation in the field of space situational awareness at this conference is unmatched by any other conference in the world. David Lassner, President of the University of Hawai’i, a sponsor of the AMOS Conference and keynote speaker at the 2014 AMOS Conference, was quoted as saying ” MEDB is not just the go ¬to resource for economic development on Maui, but a statewide leader in STEM for students, teachers and schools on every island “. MEDB is a partner with the University of Hawai’i at Maui College. (www.medb.org) (www.amostech.con/amos)