The 1991-1992 NSF Young Scholars Program at the University of Hawai'i: Science and Engineering Studies of the Ala Wai Canal, an Urban Estuary in Honolulu

Abstract

In 1991 and 1992 the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa offered a summer science and engineering enrichment program to a total of 75 Hawai'i students entering 10th through 12th grades. The program was funded by the National Science Foundation's Young Scholars Program. Students participating in the program studied chemical, biological, physical, and geological aspects of the Ala Wai Canal, a small artificial estuary in Waikiki, Hawai'i. The program provided the students with an opportunity to participate in original research through multidisciplinary (botany, civil engineering, computer sciences, geology and geophysics, microbiology, oceanography) scientific and engineering projects. Results of the students' work have contributed to an increased understanding of the physical condition of the canal, the level of pollution involved, and the potential for cleanup.