Kauaʻi Community College - A Quality University Education on Kaua'i

Kauaʻi Community College
Contact:
Camilla Matsumoto, (808) 245-8280
Dir. Community Relations & Special Projects, Chancellor's Office
Posted: May 14, 2014

Christina Martiney
Christina Martiney
Marcus Yamaguchi
Marcus Yamaguchi
Kepa Fernandes, Dominique Boeder and Bransen Agu
Kepa Fernandes, Dominique Boeder and Bransen Agu
Carlthron Antoine
Carlthron Antoine
Zack Naea
Zack Naea
Michael Estes
Michael Estes

“This has been an exceptional year at Kaua'i Community College,” reflected Kaua'i CC’s Chancellor Helen Cox as students, faculty and staff count the days leading to the May 16th Commencement at the Vidinha Stadium from 6:15 pm. Kaua'i Community College will be awarding degrees and certificates to 370 students. “The level and caliber of work produced by our students is comparable to and even surpasses students at four-year institutions making Kauaʻi CC, truly, the University of Hawai`i on Kauaʻi,” she said.  “It has been astounding to witness what our students experience and achieve on island."

Below are some highlights of Kauaʻi CC studentsʻ accomplishments.

Christina Martiney will graduate with an Associate in Arts degree with plans to attend UH Mānoa to earn a Bachelors of Science degree in Horticulture and Plant Biology. She just returned from the 6th International Congress of Nematology held in Cape Town, South Africa, where she was invited to join researchers from around the world as a presenter of her research findings on ideal timing conditions for cover cropping.  In a workshop titled, “Time interval between sunn hemp cover cropping and seed cash cropping for nematode and crop management,” Martiney presented her research, which identified best methods for protecting crops and optimizing conditions to enrich and preserve soil in a tropical environment.  Local farmers will be glad to know that sunn hemp can be used to control weed growth and encourage the propagation of healthy nematodes (worms) and soil micro-organisms.  Her mentor, Dr. Sharad Marahatta, agriculture faculty at Kauaʻi CC, accompanied Martiney.  Marahatta also gave three workshops on his area of expertise, nematodes.

Seven students from the Technology Education program showcased their projects and research findings before the campus and community, an activity that has become an annual event at Kauaʻi CC.  Amongst those presenting were students invited to present at the UH Hawai`i Space Flight Lab spring symposium at UH Manoa.  Students were accompanied by mentors, Dr. Georgeanne Friend and Dr. Michael Hannawald, Kaua`i CC faculty members; and Stu Burley, Kauaʻi’s delegate on the UH Hawaiʻi Space Grant Consortium, which is funded by NASA.

Marcus Yamaguchi, is a Liberal Arts student who is well on his way toward what promises to be a unique career in space research and exploration. Yamaguchi designed a UV spectrometer/neutron detector that will be a scientific payload on UH Hawaiʻi’s Space Flight Laboratory’s first built satellite scheduled to be launched from the Pacific Military Research Facility (PMRF) in 2016 - 2017. Kauaʻi CC will serve as ground station command and control center for the launch.

The primary function of these detectors is to capture and characterize the radiated energy of solar flares. The project will contribute to the development of an early detection system for solar events that are a potential threat to all space-based electronics, and towards a comprehensive understanding of nuclear and electromagnetic solar mechanisms.  Yamaguchi plans to attend a four-year university and will major in mathematics with a minor in physics.

The College is also sending Yamaguchi to Toyama, Japan to participate in the Toyama National College of Technology’s summer Maritime Engineering Program.   He will be working with engineering faculty and students on maritime communication, sustainable technology, and material science.

Kauaʻi CC Electronics students Kepa Fernandes, Dominique Boeder, and Bransen Agu teamed up to design the circuits to collect UV and neutron events in a small satellite.  Agu, graduating on May 16th, has excelled in electronics, programming, and designing circuits. Fernandes also excels in these areas, has a young family, and aspires to continue his education to obtain a baccalaureate in engineering.  Boeder, the only female student in the electronics program, participated in three Hawaiʻi Space Flight Lab internships.  She was selected to work for General Dynamics in Waimea this summer, near her home.  She has researched weather and solar effects using Kauaʻi CC’s solar flare tracking and weather stations.

The Hawaiʻi Space Flight Lab, was established in 2007 by UH School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and the College of Engineering.  Hawaiʻi is located in a unique position to become a low-cost gateway to space and to place the University of Hawaiʻi as the only university in the world to have both satellite fabrication capabilities and unique, direct access to orbital space.

Carlthron Antoine is in the College’s Automotive Repair program with plans to study engineering while using his automotive expertise to support his future studies. Antoine is interested in nonconventional energy storage. He is fascinated by scientific effects and has a high level of curiosity about the way things work. He is a creative and bold investigator.  In his project Antoine wanted to find an inexpensive way to store charges that could be utilized and delivered by law enforcement.

Zack Naea is graduating with an Associate in Science in Electronics. His project concerned developing magnets that can be used as frictionless bearings.  Born and raised on Kauaʻi, Naea is interested in magnetic fields and applications and can visually think about the electromagnetic field interactions much like Nikola Tesla, observed Dr. Georgeanne Friend.  Tesla was an inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist known to the world for his contributions to the way we use electricity and power systems.

 After graduation Naea wants to continue his self studies and then pass the entrance exam into a graduate school for computer science.

Michael Estes’s STEM Intern Scholar project focused on researching, formulating, and purchasing technology equipment based on project requirements.  It sounds easy to identify a tablet, projector, or quad-copter for a specific purpose, but Estes discovered the true depth and hours of research required to accurately select compatible products for a given project.  Estes is a U.S. Military Veteran enrolled in the Health Education program at Kauaʻi CC.  Realizing the essential need for a sound understanding of computer and networking technology in his field of study, he will begin taking Cisco Networking courses in Fall 2014, taught by Mark Anderson, a faculty at the College.

“Kauaʻi CC students, who go on to earn higher education degrees in STEM fields, quickly conclude that the first and second year courses they completed at the College far exceed the preparation required to excel in their chosen major’s upper level university courses,” said James Dire, vice chancellor for academic affairs.  “The small class size and `ohana learning environment at Kauaʻi CC cannot be equaled at a research university,”

Contributors:  Georgeanne Friend, Mark Anderson, and Sharad Marahatta, Kauaʻi CC faculty