Please check back soon for more speakers.
24 April (2–3 p.m. HST) • Enhancing Mauka Recharge by Mr. Travis Hylton, Environmental Director at Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Pacific. Location: Zoom (Register HERE).
Enhancing Mauka Recharge
Speaker: Mr. Travis Hylton
Streamflow and groundwater levels in Hawai‘i have been in decline over the last century due to decreased rainfall and increased pumping. Climate change has exacerbated this problem by concentrating rainfall volumes into stronger storm events that have higher runoff-to-recharge ratios. On average, less rain is falling, and a smaller fraction of that rainfall is recharging the aquifers that provide 99% of the drinking water in Hawai‘i.
Enhancing groundwater recharge in the upland (Hawaiian: mauka) sections of Oahu watersheds directly benefits resiliency through increased groundwater availability and provides multiple additional environmental benefits, including improved stream and receiving water-body water quality, improved riparian and groundwater-dependent ecosystem quality, and some flood control aspects.
Enhanced groundwater recharge can be accomplished by constructing low dams in the upper sections of the watershed, with low-profile culverts over the streambeds that allow baseflow to be passed unimpeded, but impound stormflows to increase infiltration upstream of the dams.
The presentation will cover several aspects of implementing such a system of low dams to enhance groundwater recharge in Hawai‘i, including planning and permitting considerations, natural infrastructure design, hydrologic modeling and field reconnaissance studies to facilitate dam siting, and hydrologic monitoring to characterize the efficacy of enhanced recharge.
For more information about the Spring 2026 WRRC Seminars, please contact: Xiaolong (Leo) Geng, xgeng@hawaii.edu
If interested in joining the seminar, please contact: wrrc@hawaii.edu
20 March (2–3 p.m. HST) • Predictive Understanding of Wildfire Ignitions Across the Western United States by Dr. Mojtaba (Moji) Sadegh, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at Boise State. Location: Zoom (CANCELLED).
Predictive Understanding of Wildfire Ignitions Across the Western United States
Speaker: Dr. Mojtaba (Moji) Sadegh
Wildfire prevention is one of the most effective and economical risk mitigation strategies. Human-started wildfires account for more than 60% of all recorded wildfires across the western United States and are responsible for the vast majority of wildfire-related societal impacts, underscoring the value of effective wildfire prevention strategies. To address this need, Dr. Sadegh and his team developed machine learning models that not only effectively predict spatial and temporal patterns of wildfire ignitions, but also reveal the nuanced interactions among physical, biological, social, and administrative factors that govern wildfire ignition outcomes. Annual temperature (climate), discovery day-of-year (seasonal pattern), fire year (trend), and national preparedness level (management and fire danger) were the primary governing factors in models of all ignitions, natural ignitions, and human-caused ignitions. Secondary governing factors of natural and human-caused ignitions, respectively, were weather-related attributes, and weather and social attributes. Their results indicated that although daily ignition probabilities generally track weather patterns, they can remain persistently high in areas where human factors dominate. Their results also show that models relying solely on weather do not accurately predict wildfire ignitions, reinforcing the fact that ignitions are caused by complex interactions among diverse factors.
27 February (2–3 p.m. HST) • Protecting Our Shorelines: Innovations in Oil Spill Cleanup by Dr. Chunjiang An, Associate Professor in Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering at Concordia University, Canada. Location: Zoom.
Protecting Our Shorelines: Innovations in Oil Spill Cleanup
Speaker: Dr. Chunjiang An
Oil spills along our coastlines pose a serious environmental threat, harming marine life, disrupting local economies, and causing lasting damage to ecosystems. These spills can result from offshore drilling, transportation accidents, or industrial activities. Once oil reaches the shore, it becomes even more difficult to clean up, often lingering for years and affecting fisheries, tourism, and the natural beauty of coastal regions. While traditional shoreline spill response methods exist, they often fall short of effectively removing oil. Recognizing these challenges, Dr. An’s research focuses on improving shoreline oil spill response. His work has revealed how oil moves and spreads in coastal areas, helping experts predict spill behavior and develop more effective cleanup strategies. He is also developing eco-friendly cleaning solutions for oil spills. These green washing agents not only remove oil but also accelerate its natural breakdown, making cleanup safer for the environment. This work is shaping the future of oil spill cleanup by contributing to cleaner and more resilient shorelines.
10 February (3–4 p.m. HST) • Can Microbial Intelligent Pathways Apply for Biodegradation of Plastics? by Dr. Hor-Gil Hur, Professor at the School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Korea. NEW LOCATION: Holmes Hall Room 285 (IN-PERSON EVENT ONLY).
Can Microbial Intelligent Pathways Apply for Biodegradation of Plastics?
Speaker: Dr. Hor-Gil Hur
As we feel and experience problems associated with various plastics, cleaning and recycling the waste plastics with non-hazardous and economically affordable methods are urgently demanded. Indeed, worldwide annual production of plastics amounts from 350 to 400 MT. Among the various plastics produced, polyethylene and polypropylene represent about 92% of the synthetic plastics produced, which are mostly used in the production of plastic bags, disposable containers, bottles, packaging materials, etc. One question is “Can accumulated current information about microbial physiology and biochemistry for biodegradation mechanisms, from C1 compound methane to polymer lignin, shed light on cleaning the plastic polymers?” There have been numerous articles for microbial biodegradation of plastic polymers. In microbial communities, however, they believe that plastics with oxygen-incorporated functional groups, such as PET and polyurethane, might be subjected to biodegradation, but plastics without oxygen in the crystalline film plastic structure—like low-density and high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene—cannot be. In the given time of the session, Dr. Hur will share lessons learned from microbial oxidation processes to various compounds, from methane to lignin, to encourage participants to clean plastic wastes through environmentally friendly methods.