Plans are underway for a new research facility on the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus to jointly house the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) and the Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center (PIERC).
The 60,000-square-foot Integrated Research Center will bring together staff from both HVO and PIERC to monitor, investigate and assess hazards from active volcanoes and earthquakes in Hawaiʻi. The collaboration will provide the scientific understanding and technologies needed to support and implement sound management and conservation of biological resources in Hawaiʻi and other Pacific island locations.
“At UH Hilo, we are honored to host HVO on our campus and excited about the benefits that this partnership can have for our students, who will be able to interact with HVO and PIERC staff and envision careers in the earth sciences,” said UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin.
- Related UH News stories:
- UH Hilo leaders get close look at eruption work, December 29, 2020
- New Kīlauea eruption spurs UH Hilo alumni to front lines, December 22, 2020
- UH Hilo students critical to post eruption research, October 21, 2020
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) selected architectural firm AHL to design the research facility. A related 13,000-square-foot field station is being built in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Designed and constructed on separate sites, the laboratory, administration and support facilities are being planned concurrently to support USGS’s mission to enrich the Hawaiʻi Island research community.
“We are honored to be chosen to design these significant projects that are exciting and have a mission that resonates with us,” said Nathan Saint Clare, AHL principal-in-charge. “We plan to provide state-of-the-art facilities that will enrich the Hawaiʻi Island community for years to come.”
—By Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories
