As a resident Marine Technician aboard the R/V Kilo Moana and R/V Ka'imikai-O-Kanaloa, I serve the various scientists and assist in safely retrieving their respective data samples.

Where is your hometown?

I was born and raised in Wahiawa, on the island of O’ahu, Hawaii.

What is your career?

I am a Marine Research Systems Engineer with the Ocean Technology Group (OTG) at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii.

What is your education and training?

I have a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis Missouri, and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Hawaii Pacific University. My training has come from my parents who constantly taught me "Use your brain, figure it out" and 4.5 years on this "first real job".

What inspired you to choose your career and which persons were your role models?

Being homeschooled, my parents were able to guide me towards my strengths and a technical education. I was blessed with this job not too long after graduation and have had a blast from day one. What other job pays you to spend a lot of time in and around Hawaii, Alaska, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and Samoa?

What are some of your favorite things about life at sea?

I don’t have to deal with a horrendous amount of traffic in order to get to work: 25 steps from my stateroom to the computer lab, and only a couple more to the Aft deck! Chief Cook Shawn Lindenmuth prepares some unbelievably 'ono (Hawaiian word for “delicious”) meals.

What do you do in your free time?

When I'm out to sea, I enjoy fishing, getting lots of sleep, and studying Wing Chun Kung Fu from our Sifu (Teacher), A/B Thomas Perry. When I'm on land, I’m stoked to surf whenever there's a swell – and there’s always some kind of swell on O’ahu.

Contact information:

Ocean Technology Group
UH Marine Center
1 Sand Island Access Road
Honolulu HI 96819
Email: kuhio@hawaii.edu

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