E Komo Mai - Welcome to Kewalo Marine Laboratory

Located on the south shore of Oʻahu near the beautiful Kakaʻako Waterfront Park, Kewalo Marine Laboratory is a world-class research facility specializing in the the study of the biodiversity and the effects of human activity on our precious local marine environment. Kewalo Marine Lab is one of two marine laboratories of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and provides support for University of Hawaiʻi faculty and students, as well as visiting researchers from around the world. The four permanent University of Hawaiʻi faculty run active, federally-funded research labs, train students, and perform community and outreach activities vital to our understanding of life in the marine environment. Kewalo Marine Laboratory is a unique and internationally recognized urban marine lab with access to the pristine coral reef ecosystems on the leeward coast and an invaluable resource for residents in the state of Hawaiʻi.

Latest News at Kewalo Marine Lab

James MurphyJames Murphy an undergraduate MARC researcher in the Richmond Lab took first place awards in both the Oral Presentation and Poster categories at the Honors Fall Forum last month. Congratulations, James! (You can find out more about James' research as he is the Featured Researcher for January).

Michael HadfieldMark MartindaleElaine SeaverMembers of the Hadfield, Martindale, and Seaver Labs recently traveled to the 2012 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina to present their research. Nice job!


More Kewalo news...


Events Calendar

Fri

13

Jan

Dr. Fred W. Allendorf, U of Montana

"Human-induced evolution caused by unnatural selection through harvest of wild animals"

3:30-4:30 p.m. in BioMed B-103

Fri

20

Jan

Dr. Dennis LaPoint, USGS Pac Isl Eco Rsch Ctr

"Avian malaria in Hawaii: The current status and future of an introduced pathogen"

3:30-4:30 p.m. in BioMed B-103

Fri

27

Jan

Frederique Kandel, PhD Candidate in Zoology

"Natural sunscreen compounds in three species of coral and their fish predator"

3:30-4:30 p.m. in BioMed B-103


Featured Research

James MurphyMr. James Murphy
(Photo by Tricia Murata)

Mr. James Murphy is an undergraduate researcher in the Richmond Lab. From a very young age, science in general has been his passion – from volunteering with local sustainability programs to spending hours studying roller coaster physics to shadowing pharmacists and surgeons. As early as elementary school, he was spending his time reading science magazines, participating in science fairs, and taking trips to the Liberty Science Center and tide pools along the shores of New Jersey. It wasn't until high school that he began to focus his interests towards marine biology and biochemistry.

"Under the mentorship of my high school biology teacher, I began researching alternative energy sources, such as ethanol, hydrogen, compressed natural gas, and bio-diesel. I eventually developed this work into my junior year thesis," explains James.

He took his project further by working with the superintendent of the Educational Services Commission in his district to develop a proposal to test the efficiency of different diesel fuels in school buses. His project was awarded funding from the New Jersey Academy of Science.

His work with alternative fuel sources led to an interest in sustainable, algal-based bio-fuels, and particularly how such bio-fuels could provide Pacific Islanders with a means of producing their own energy source.

"I decided to come to Hawaii to study, in part, because of the research going on at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, but also because of my native Hawaiian ancestry," said James. "Plus, I've always known that I wanted to go to grad school, and I knew that an undergraduate degree from UH would put me in a good position to continue on in my graduate studies."


Read more about Mr. Murphy's research...