UH Funds MHS Student’s Research

UH Manoa News Release

The University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Engineering and its Hawaii Center for Advanced Communications (HCAC) are supporting a Molokai High School student in her efforts to protect Hawaiian wildlife.

Sarah Jenkins, a junior at Molokai High, has already received recognition for her strong commitment to protecting Hawaiian endangered birds.  She placed second overall at the 54th annual Maui Science and Engineering Fair and later won first place for best Senior Research Project in the Animal Science Category from the Hawaii Academy of Science.  Her successful work is focused on improving the reproduction environment of the Hawaiian Coot and involves creating artificial floating nesting structures in Pipio Pond in the Mapulehu area.  Jenkins did not slow after these successes, and continued to work hard to improve the environment for endangered birds on her island and throughout Hawaii.

Jenkins began exploring the use of thermal imaging for noninvasive monitoring of the Hawaiian Coot population and perhaps for counting eggs, to better track their population and to correlate growth rates with environmental conditions such as the impacts of encroaching mangrove forests on ponds, nesting areas and food sources.  She had reached a point, though, where she was limited by available resources, so she reached out for assistance.  Jenkins contacted several universities and other agencies looking for support for her project.  Dr. Peter Crouch, Dean of the College of Engineering at UH Manoa, in turn informed Professor Magdy Iskander, Director of the Hawaii Center for Advanced Communications (HCAC), to discuss the high school student’s request and importance of supporting her project.

On Nov. 14, at the invitation of Dean Crouch, Jenkins and her parents, Greg and Heidi, and mentor Arleone Dibben-Young visited the UH Manoa campus, toured the College of Engineering, and met with Professor Iskander and his team of faculty and graduate students at HCAC.  The team discussed her project and resource needs and then toured the research lab facilities at HCAC.  During the visit, Jenkins saw demonstration of HCAC’s thermal imaging system, where she observed the ranges and effects of thermal camera parameters.  They helped her to determine specific requirements for thermal imaging of wildlife in the field.

Dean Crouch and Professor Iskander were impressed with the high school student’s passion, knowledge and professional approach to her project, and committed to purchasing a thermal imaging system, suitable for wildlife observations in the field, to support her project.  HCAC also donated two sets of water quality measurement equipment to assist with the monitoring and data collection of the environmental conditions in and around the nesting areas.  This equipment included wireless sensors for monitoring water pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and salinity, along with an additional sensor for measuring water flow rates and an iPod Touch for wireless data collection.  Jenkins is already using some of the equipment in support of her project and also to help mentor a Molokai Middle School student with her science fair project.