Award Data

Computation of the radiative transfer model for a hyperspectral sounder with thousands of spectral channels is very time-consuming. Consequently, operational data assimilation systems can assimilate only a few hundred channels. The radiative transfer model is very suitable for GPU implementation to take advantage of GPU massively parallel computing capability, where radiances at various channels c ...

Obesity is a growing epidemic that continues to threaten the health of both adults and children around the world. Additionally, challenging economic times and increasing food costs puts pressure on consumers to purchase lower priced meals. While there are many ingredients available that can lower fat and calorie contents of foods, their usage is somewhat limited because either their quality is not ...

USDA secretary, Tom Vilsack recently urged the Forest Service to "develop new markets" for forest by-products, which encourage healthy timber management. Small-diameter round timber is an abundant by-product of healthy timber management and could serve emerging green commercial markets if technical barriers, specifically round timber "connections", can be solved. Whole Trees Architecture and Const ...

Tuna are among the most highly valued fish worldwide. Due to this value and high demand, tuna are being fished beyond sustainable levels in many parts of the world. Replacing or supplementing wild catch with hatchery raised tuna makes sense, but this is technically difficult with current technology. Hatchery efforts since the 1970s have made progress in capture and spawning of tuna to provide eggs ...

Mandates for biofuels have resulted in the significant increase of biodiesel production in rural communities. Hawaii's Jatropha biodiesel production will produce nearly 650-700 kg of residues, consisting of Jatropha seedcake and fruit hulls for every metric ton of seeds harvested for oil production. In addition, the biodiesel conversion process will produce another 30-50 kg of crude glycerin, ...

Plant-eating insect pests cause significant economic loss in commercial greenhouse growing operations, sometimes amounting to tens of thousands of dollars per hectare. Insects as a vector of plant pathogens also rank very high on the problem list for greenhouse/hothouse growers. Efficiently managing pests requires an array of complementary methods including traps and other physical methods, biolog ...

Apple snail, (Pomacea canaliculata), a highly invasive pest affecting wetland crops in 18 countries including the U.S., is listed as one of the 100 Worst Global Invaders. One study showed that due to its voracious appetite, present value damage from the snail could cost Philippine rice production as much as 2.3 billion dollars annually. In Hawai`i, the apple snail invasion has reduced taro harvest ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop commercial biorestoration technologies to restore the overall structure and function of degraded Sphagnum weland ecosystems. Technologies will include the development of plant tissue culture techniques for Sphagnum species, the application of commercial micropropagation protocols, and an investigation of the potential benefit of ...

While the Internet may promise the potential of increased access to services and information, obstacles make access to such technology by rural businesses, educators and individuals difficult. Much research has been conducted about bringing Internet services into K-12 education, and projects have in initiated to bring better Internet access to rural communities, yet the rift between urban and ru ...

THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF RELIABLE, LARGE-SCALE, HATCHERY TECHNIQUES FOR THE HAWAIIAN BLACK-LIP PEARL OYSTER NOW OPENS UP THE POTENTIAL FOR BLACK PEARL FARMING IN NEW AREAS ACROSS THE PACIFIC. EFFICIENT, COST-EFFECTIVE, GROW-OUT TECHNIQUES NEED TO BE DEVISED FOR THE HIGH-ENERGY MARINE CONDITIONS IN HAWAII AND OPEN ATOLL LAGOONS OF THE U.S.-AFFILIATED PACIFIC. CULTURE TRIALS WILL COMPARE TRADIT ...