Lawmakers Announce $1.5 Million in Funds for UH Physics Research

Hawai‘i’s Congressional Delegation has announced that the University of Hawai‘i (UH) will get $1.5 million in grant monies from the U.S. Department of Energy to research high energy physics.  Eventually, the funding will total $8.9 million.

Senator Brian Schatz said UH is quickly becoming a national leader in science, and the funding will support its continuing work.

“In a 21st century economy, the importance of science and technology innovation cannot be overstated,” said Senator Mazie K. Hirono. “The University of Hawai‘i is a premier research institution and this grant allows physicists to continue cutting edge work that will improve the design of scientific instruments and increase our understanding of how our universe works at the most fundamental levels.”

Congressman Mark Takai said these kind of investments will provide pathways to clean energy, job creation, and the fostering of entrepreneurship.

UH says the high energy physics research program is top-ranked and was recognized by physics Nobel Prize winners Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa.  The program aims to understand the properties of matter and the physical universe, experimenting with high energy accelerators and searching for new particles while testing current theories in physics.