Maunakea Scholars honors students statewide for excellence in astronomy

Fifty students from five Hawai‘i high schools were recognized during annual awards ceremonies for the Maunakea Scholars program.

After holding awards ceremonies at Waiākea High School on Hawai’i Island and Waiphau, Kalani, and Kamehameha Kapālama High Schools on Oʻahu, the program concluded its 10th year with an awards ceremony back on Hawai’i Island at Kealakehe High School.

The Maunakea Scholars program is a statewide initiative that empowers public high school students with opportunities to engage in world-class astronomical research. This year, the program awarded 36 students telescope time to conduct independent research using Maunakea’s world-class observatories, with additional students receiving honorable mentions for their efforts.

“Every year, I’m astonished by the creativity and scope of the students’ proposals. These high schoolers are asking huge questions about the universe, questions professional astronomers ask,” said Mary Beth Laychak, Maunakea Scholars Coordinator at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy. “We have alumni working at observatories, teaching in classrooms, and building careers in engineering and computer science, and it all started with a question they had about the night sky.”

Their projects will be carried out using the W.M. Keck Observatory, Canada-France-Hawai’i Telescope, NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, East Asian Observatory, and Submillimeter Array on Maunakea, and the Las Cumbres Observatory on Haleakalā.

Several proposals from students at Kealakehe High School were selected for further research on the mauna, including Kailee Arakawa, whose proposal is “Looking for GJ 436c.”

“I think opportunities like Maunakea Scholars are important for high schoolers like me, because it gives us opportunity to do real-world research that normally we wouldn’t have access to,” said Kailee Arakawa, Maunakea Scholars Awardee from Kealakehe High School.

See other proposals from Kealakehe High School students selected below:

• Reina J. Wolcott, “Countdown to Collapse”
• Titan Ubando, “Searching for Life on Titan”
• Kiarie Enos, “Searching for Life on Titan”
• Sophie Meeks, “Stellar Aftermath: Investigating the Pulsar Driven Excitation of Gas Filaments in the Jellyfish Nebula”
• Alexander Garrison, “Stellar Aftermath: Investigating the Pulsar Driven Excitation of Gas Filaments in the Jellyfish Nebula”
• Ariana Pouzin, “LAMOST 235456”
• June Wheeler, “LAMOST 235456”

Since its launch in 2015, the Maunakea Scholars program has engaged more than 1,000 students across Hawaiʻi and awarded telescope time to over 300. The program has also distributed $60,000 in Hōkūala Scholarships to support students pursuing astronomy in college.