An associate professor in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) was appointed to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Ocean Studies Board.
Rosie ʻAnolani Alegado, who is the first Indigenous person appointed to the Ocean Studies Board, hopes to bring consideration for the strengths and challenges in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific to this important forum.
“I am honored to serve on a board that has such a tremendous impact on our profession as ocean scientists and more broadly, the United States and the Pacific,” said Alegado. “I intend to introduce new voices, particularly those of Native practitioners, to provide expertise and advice on our marine ecosystems and habitats.”
Alegado is a faculty member with the Department of Oceanography, the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, and Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education is also the director of the Ulana ʻIke Sea Grant Center of Excellence and the SOEST Maile Mentoring Bridge Program. She is also co-founder, business and finance director of the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s Tropical Medicine Clinical Laboratory.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provide expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and world to spark progress for the benefit of society. The Ocean Studies Board explores the science, policies and infrastructure needed to understand, manage, and conserve coastal and marine environments and resources.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Alegado to the Ocean Studies Board and look forward to her contributions to our work,” said Susan Roberts, director of the Ocean Studies Board.
The board also serves as the U.S. Committee for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research and the National Academies Presidents’ Funds. The U.S. National Committee for the Ocean Decade will encourage participation and serve as a communication channel for the U.S. ocean science community throughout this international effort.
This appointment is an example of UH Mānoa’s goal of Building a Sustainable and Resilient Campus Environment: Within the Global Sustainability and Climate Resilience Movement (PDF), one of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Strategic Plan (PDF), updated in December 2020.
