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Education & Outreach Staff

	Barbara C. Bruno • Education Director Barbara’s research background is in mathematics and geology, but her strong interest in science education led her to become C-MORE’s education coordinator. Her main role is to develop a rigorous pre-college and post-secondary education program that is fully integrated with C-MORE’s research initiatives. Activities include shipboard & laboratory research experiences, K-12 teacher professional development, and community outreach. (808) 956-0901 barb@hawaii.edu
	Kate Achilles C-MORE Postdoctoral Scholar: Themes I and II. Kate’s research focuses on the diversity and abundance of diazotrophic microbes in the open ocean, denitrification in oxygen minimum zones in the water column, development of techniques for cell sorting of cyanobacteria by flow cytometry for subsequent cultivation and molecular analyses, as well as the bioavailability of iron to cyanobacteria. She is also actively working on the development of educational programs that promote awareness and interest in microbial oceanography by creating innovative curriculum modules, providing access to teacher workshops and shipboard experiences, and establishing active community outreach programs. (808) 956-7424 kate.achilles@soest.hawaii.edu
	Puanani Akaka Puanani is a graduate of The Kamehameha Schools and already has a Master’s in Library Science. She chose to go back to school in hopes of acquiring practical experience in her second interest, filmmaking (her first love is playing drums, but that’s a different story). She worked on local film productions, including Picture Bride. Currently, she is a student in the UH film school, Academy for Creative Media, and is working with C-MORE to create educational videos for the general public and K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and post-doc levels. akakap@hawaii.edu
	Noelani Puniwai Born and raised on the Big Island, Noelani received Marine Science and Hawaiian Studies degrees from UH Hilo. After receiving a MS in Environmental Science at Washington State Univ working on submersibles and ROVs she was recruited back to Hawai‘i. Her projects of interest include Hawaiian marine ecology, underwater research techniques, GIS, and recruiting more Native Hawaiian students into the sciences. Noelani’s mission is to assemble and communicate information about our marine environment with all members of our community including students, teachers, fisherman, managers and scientists and to promote responsibility of our actions. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Natural Resources and Environmental Management while enjoying her two young boys. (808) 956-8846 npuniwai@hawaii.edu
	Gordon Walker As a teacher, Gordon had a strong interest in providing students with interactive, multi-sensory learning experiences. He realized that science, of the four core subjects in middle and high school, offered the greatest opportunity for students to engage in hands-on learning. As a result, he is now taking classes in pursuit of a degree in oceanography. He chose oceanography because the ocean is readily available to students and the general public in Hawai‘i, and it plays a major role in our lives both locally and globally. In the future, he hopes to couple a graduate degree in oceanography with education and outreach. (808) 956-7739 gwalker@hawaii.edu
	Kimberley A. Weersing Kim’s passion for science and conservation has taken her to British Columbia for undergraduate studies in zoology and to Hawai‘i for graduate work in oceanography. While she has been amazed at the products of dedicated research, she is dismayed that so few scientific findings penetrate beyond the walls of academia into public awareness. Fortunately, she has been able to satisfy her interest in bridging this gap through various experiences such as teaching marine science labs and leading field excursions. She is currently applying these experiences to C-MORE projects, creating a learning environment fuelled by curiosity, and making marine science engaging and accessible. (808) 956-7739 weersing@hawaii.edu

Education & Outreach Staff are all based at UH Manoa
Mailing address: C-MORE, 1000 Pope Road, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822