February 2026

Reading time: 2 minutes Tourism has stabilized but is not yet expanding, according to UHERO‘s first quarter forecast for 2026. (Photo credit: Sung Shin/Unsplash) Hawaiʻi’s economy is moving beyond last year’s mild recession, but the recovery will be gradual, according to the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization’s (UHERO) first quarter forecast for 2026 released […]

Reading time: 2 minutes The Iliahia pahulu is considered critically endangered and is known only from a small grove of approximately 30 sandalwood trees on the island of Lānaʻi. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers identified 10 new species and seven new groups (genera) of Hawaiian leaf-roller moths. While new species are frequently discovered, the

Reading time: 2 minutes Brian Glazer checks on data from a real-time flood sensor during a king tide event in Boston, Massachusetts. A University of Hawaiʻi-born climate technology startup has been named a winner of the Water Resilience Challenge, an international competition announced in Davos, Switzerland. HCL (Hindustan Computers Limited) Group and UpLink, the early-stage

Reading time: < 1 minute A measurement marker is visible in the upper left. Aerial images help map seasonal high-water events along the coast. (Credit: Haunani Kane) The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo will lead a new $1.2 million, three-year grant funded by NASA to better understand how Hawaiʻi’s coastlines can withstand climate change while

Reading time: 2 minutes In an era of rising grocery costs, eggs remain one of the most accessible and complete protein sources for families. New research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) is investigating how chickens age to help keep that high-quality protein on dinner tables.

Reading time: 2 minutes The algorithm development was led by physics undergraduate Jeffrey G. Yepez. A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa student-led team has developed a new algorithm to help scientists determine direction in complex two-dimensional (2D) data, with potential applications ranging from particle physics to machine learning. The research was published February 6 in

Reading time: < 1 minute The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering is expanding its environmental monitoring and research capabilities thanks to a $30,000 donation from the Hawaiʻi Water Environment Association (HWEA). The HWEA gift will help upgrade the college’s environmental engineering lab through the acquisition of advanced instruments—most notably a state-of-the-art gas

Reading time: 2 minutes Hawaiʻi may increasingly resemble economically distressed “left-behind” regions—not because of rising prices, but because incomes and productivity have lagged for decades, according to a new analysis released February 19, by the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO). “Left-behind” regions are areas where slow growth and limited opportunity leave incomes and

Reading time: < 1 minute Students shared their experiences in earning state licensure to become mental health providers. Many aspiring mental health practitioners in Hawaiʻi begin their career journey thinking they are embarking on a straightforward path toward helping their community, only to find themselves walking into many regulations and bureaucratic red tape. John Souza,

Reading time: 2 minutes Photo credit: Valentine Vaeoso A new $4.6–million multi-institute collaborative project to help grow coral restoration capacity in American Samoa will begin in early 2026, leveraging more than two decades of coral heat tolerance studies to inform a restoration with resilience approach. The project will bring together partners from American Samoa Community