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Contest seeks positively charged art design

May 21st, 2013 · Clean Energy

Greg-Kawakami-QKC-GM

Pictured: Greg Kawakami, Queen Kaahumanu Center General Manager with EV Charger.

Young artists are being asked to add some pizazz to the front and back panels of new electric vehicle quick-charging stations being installed at Queen Kaahumanu Center. Sponsored by Hitachi and with assistance from Maui Economic Development Board, the art contest is open to Maui County students in the 6th to 12th grades. Deadline for submissions is June 1.

Artist can choose to create either one design that will go with both front and back panels or do two complimentary designs — one for the front and one for back. The front panel is 13.5 inches wide and 24 inches high. The back panel is 13.5 inches wide and 65 inches high. Artwork will be featured on the charger panels as a waterproof applique. The artwork medium needs to be graphic design — Illustrator or Photoshop. The submission format must be Adobe Illustrator EPS or Photoshop PDF, high resolution, 300 dpi.

Artwork should be original and positively represent Maui’s community, environment and clean energy. Examples of the charging stations can be seen near the main entrance parking lot at Queen Kaahumanu Center. Submissions should be emailed to Lesley Bristol at Bristol@medb.org.

Digital submissions are preferred, but mail or delivered submissions can be sent to Maui Economic Development Board, attention Lesley Bristol, 1305 N. Holopono St., Suite 1, Kihei 96753. The submission should include the student’s name, school, grade and contact information. Winning images will be announced June 15 at the Queen

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Baldwin Robotics Wins Hawaii Regional, Heads for World Championship

April 10th, 2013 · Community, Education, Robotics

Baldwin High’s robotics team and their alliance partners capture the 2013 Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

Baldwin High’s robotics team and their alliance partners capture the 2013 Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

An alliance of Leilehua, Baldwin and Kalani high schools were crowned Champions at the Hawaii Regional FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) held April 4 to 6, 2013 at the Stan Sheriff Center on Oahu. The three robotics teams defeated an alliance comprised of Waialua High School, Punahou School and Sacred Hearts Academy, and will go on to compete at the FRC Championship, April 24 to 27, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.

FIRST competitions are divided into two main parts. The first are qualifying matches in which teams play a series of games, each time assigned to a different three-team alliance. The format fosters competition as well as collaboration, as any team may be an opponent as well as an ally at different points of the competition.

The top-ranked teams at the end of the qualifiers are able to form their own alliances for the second part of the event, the elimination matches, in which the set alliances must win two of three games in each round in order to advance.

At the conclusion of the qualifying matches, Maui High was the top-ranked Valley Isle team at #5, followed by Lahainaluna at #6 and Baldwin at #11. Waialua High, a perennial powerhouse, was undefeated during the qualifiers, and ranked #1. Lahainaluna was later eliminated during the quarterfinals, and Maui High during the semis. A total of 37 teams competed in Hawaii this year, including students from California, China and Australia.

“I’m very proud of the students, they really stepped up to the plate and exceeded all expectations,” Suter said. “Our team this year is young – most have been in FIRST just one or two years – but they’re talented and hard-working and did an outstanding job.

“We appreciate our terrific alliance partners, Leilehua and Kalani. We were definitely the underdogs going into the finals, and being able to overcome a strong alliance led by one of the best teams in the country was amazing.”

In FIRST Robotics, teams are given six weeks to design, build and program robots weighing up to 120 pounds and capable of performing various tasks to score points. Robots may score points during an autonomous period during which robots are operated solely by their programming, and a teleop period in which student drive their robots remotely using game controllers. In this year’s game, robots scored points for shooting Frisbees in or on various goals, and climbing rungs on a pyramid-shaped structure.

FIRST teams may also compete for a host of other awards, including website design, safety, engineering excellence, team spirit, gracious professionalism and entrepreneurship.

The robotics teams of Baldwin High and Maui High each received a $5,000 grant from the MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund.

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Boeing Completes Update of U.S. Air Force Telescope

April 2nd, 2013 · Optics & Space Technology

From OnOrbitWatch – A Space Situational Awareness Community Site

AEOSBoeing has completed a two-year modernization effort for a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory telescope used for space situational awareness, the company said June 20.

The Air Force declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) in late March, Boeing spokeswoman Elizabeth Merida said via email June 22. IOC certifies that the telescope is ready to provide surveillance of objects in near-Earth and deep-space orbits, according to the Boeing press release.

AEOS is one of six telescopes at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex in Haleakala, Hawaii, that are used to track space objects including satellites and debris. Boeing is responsible for replacing the aging sensors, control software and computer systems for all of those telescopes.

Read the full story at OnOrbitWatch.com

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MEDB Produces Space Film and Business Report

March 20th, 2013 · AMOS, Technology

Jay April

Jay April

Maui Economic Development Board has produced two educational pieces — a short film called Maui in Space, and a glossy publication called the Maui Business Report. Maui in Space can be viewed at: http://youtu.be/dtmKBEG4cEA. The video was produced, directed and written by Jay April and edited by Louis DiLiberto of Artifact Studios. The business report is available at no charge at the MEDB offices in Kihei.

Filmmaker Jay April expressed, “Making this film made me realize that Maui not only represents the summit of space situational awareness, but it leads the world in mankind’s understanding of asteroids and the sun; an amazing achievement by the largely unheralded but spectacular men and women of science who live and work here every day.”

Both materials are aimed at raising public awareness about high-tech business and the advances in space situational awareness on island. The video according to physical scientist Dr. Stacie Williams of the Air Force Research Laboratory shows a collaboration by MEDB, the Air Force and the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. “Our society revolves around using space. … The video shows Maui’s global contribution to space situational awareness,” Williams said. “It’s an educational video that shows the importance of the work being done here.”

MEDB, with support from the County of Maui, produced the film as an introduction to astronomy on island and the Air Force’s efforts in work and research around space situational awareness. “We are pleased that the film will be used by the Air Force in its educational outreach to Maui students in grades K to 12,” said MEDB Program Director Sandy Ryan. “We hope this will assist educators in inspiring their students to engage in science and math and see how it relates to their everyday lives on Maui.”

In the Maui Business Report, MEDB’s President and CEO Jeanne Skog recalls how skeptics said high-tech wouldn’t work on the Valley Isle. “With tourism and agriculture as the basis of our economy for so long, certainly our workforce had been geared in that direction,” Skog tells a report interviewer. “So we realized we had to look at skill-building in our schools.” Through thousands of dollars in private and public support, MEDB has developed a host of programs for both teachers and students so that they can learn to use technology to learn and grow.

The Maui Business Report encompasses a variety of stories including one that features Molokai Plumerias and another about how one hotel, the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, is working toward being more energy efficient. “MEDB is committed to providing support by spotlighting the efforts businesses are taking to improve and thrive in today’s economy,” Skog said. “We believe the report conveys the impact business and technology have in Maui County today and in the future.”

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Follow your heart, baby carrier inventor urges

February 25th, 2013 · Business Profile, Entrepreneurship

At MEDB event, Mauian says know strengths, don’t lose sight of goal.

ERGObaby Carrier founder Karin Frost urged people on February 6 at an Innovation Series event sponsored by MEDB to follow their intuition, whether in business or in life.

Read the full story on the Maui News.

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MEDB Innovation Series – A Conversation with Karin Frost

January 24th, 2013 · Community, Entrepreneurship

Invites you to
A Conversation with Karin Frost
Entrepreneur and creator of ERGObaby carrier
Wednesday, February 6, 2013Registration 5:00 p.m., Program 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Iao Theater in Wailuku
Open to the public, free admission

Maui Economic Development Board is proud to present our next featured Innovation Series speaker, Karin Frost. Join us for a not-to-be-missed conversation with this successful entrepreneur as she shares how she developed and marketed her innovation.

Frost moved to Maui permanently in 1997. As a first-time mom in 2001, she was dissatisfied with baby slings and pouches available on the market and decided to create one that keep her son as close to her body as possible, while also being comfortable by carrying her baby’s weight on her hips. Parenting magazine’s 20th anniversary issue named the ERGObaby carrier as one of the top 20 products in the last 20 years.

The event is FREE and open to the public. Seating is limited and reservations are recommended by calling Cari Taylor, 808-875-2336, or email cari@medb.org.


In 2012 as part of our 30th year, Maui Economic Development Board created the Innovation Series to inspire our community with new ideas and models of action.

The Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation created in 1982 to diversify Maui County’s economy. MEDB partners with private and public sectors and the community at-large to promote innovation, jobs and opportunity for Maui County residents. MEDB’s programs – which are founded on a respect for Hawaii’s culture and precious environment – assist growth industries, educate and train residents for new career pathways, and build consensus in addressing the community’s challenges.

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Maui in Space

January 15th, 2013 · AMOS, Technology

Maui has some of the most diverse and highly capable optical telescopes (AEOS), instrumentation (adaptive optics, spectrometers, photometers, radiometers, etc.) and processing capabilities (MHPCC) centralized into one location on the planet earth. Maui Economic Development Board, Inc. with support from the County of Maui presents this short film as an introduction to these unique astronomy and DoD efforts associated with space situational awareness (SSA).

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MEDB Chair: Inouye was a good man who did great work

December 21st, 2012 · Government

Senator Inouye at the opening of the MEDB Ke Alahele Center

Senator Inouye at the opening of the MEDB Ke Alahele Center

The Maui Economic Development Board of Directors expressed profound sadness over the loss of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. He passed away on December 17, 2012, at the age of 88.

MEDB’s leaders also expressed respect and admiration for Inouye, a Medal of Honor winner and the second-longest serving senator in U.S. history. Accountant and MEDB Chair Ron Kawahara said he will miss the “astute, witty and humble man” in Inouye. “There’s just no end to his good works,” Kawahara said. “Senator Inouye, rest in peace. Know you were a good man who did great work.”

Board secretary Mike Maberry, the assistant director for the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, called Inouye a true American hero. “He was a Keiki O Ka ‘Aina that epitomized selfless service to his community and his country. His vision and guidance gave Maui, his mother’s birthplace, it’s high tech advantage. It was and honor to know and work with him and his staff.”

“You will never be forgotten,” said MEDB board of director Terry Vencl, who serves as the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau Executive Director. “We have lost one of the brightest and most powerful people of Hawaii. Senator has done so much for Maui and MEDB.”

University of Hawaii President M.R.C. Greenwood said: “On a personal note, our hearts go out to his family and his devoted staff and grieve along with them. … We are grateful that he passed our way and left his legacy, and we will always be in his debt. And now we must go forward as he would have expected us to do.”

Eugene Bal, the executive director for the Maui High Performance Computing Center, said Inouye will be missed by all. “He is the person we all aspire to be. It has been our profound privilege and high honor to have the known the greatness of this man.”

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U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye was a master mentor

December 21st, 2012 · Government

Inouye-Skog

MEDB President and CEO Jeanne Skog and Vice President Leslie Wilkins looked to U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye for wisdom and guidance. “I learned strategy, how to leverage partnerships, and build programs that were forward-thinking and designed to support STEM education from elementary school through career placement,” MEDB Vice President Leslie Wilkins said. “He was a master.”

Skog, who knew Inouye since 1989, said Inouye inspired her to persevere. “The path to a vision may not go as planned but if it’s worth seeking then other paths can be found or created,” Skog said.  “Innovative strategies are a necessity in economic development.”

Skog said she was grateful for Inouye’s support as MEDB partnered in the creation of the Maui Research & Technology Park in Kihei. “He shared in our dreams to diversify and find new options and opportunities for our residents and students through our education and workforce efforts,” Skog told The Maui News. The Senator came aboard the project “when he saw what the business community was trying to do,” she said. “The first step was to create a place for tech to grow on Maui,” she said. “And the Senator embraced that immediately.”

Wilkins said one of the greatest honors of her career was playing a very small part in implementing Inouye’s vision for the future of Hawaii’s young people. “He entrusted our Women in Technology team with carrying out an important part of his legacy.” Following Inouye’s advice, Wilkins said MEDB worked at ensuring that its federally funded programs could be used as models on the national level. “We always wanted to honor Senator Inouye with top caliber projects,” she said.

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‘Our students loved him’

December 21st, 2012 · Government

DSC_0484The Maui High School FIRST Blue Thunder robotics team had just won the Hawaii FIRST championship when U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye happened to make a visit to the campus in Kahului. Participants at the event remember Inouye was incredibly warm and delighted in celebrating the students’ accomplishment.

Retired Maui High School Principal Randy Yamanuha said U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye was a visionary who had a great sense of humor and a knack for knowing what’s best for the island’s young people. “What really impressed me was he could really see the future of our students. He looked at what was going on in the world and could envision what needed to be done for Maui and Hawaii students in general to be globally competitive,” Yamanuha said.

During his 10-year term as principal for one of Maui’s largest high schools, Yamanuha and his staff actively pursued Science Technology Engineering and Math or STEM education projects for their students. Yamanuha said organizations like Maui Economic Development Board and leaders like Senator Inouye were key to providing educators with technical assistance and outside funding that could be used to empower students interested in the field of robotics, science and even digital media.

“For me, Senator Inouye was somebody who was always looking at the greater good. It really put meaning into STEM for us,” Yamanuha said. As part of their partnership with MEDB, Inouye and his staff paid several visits to show support for Maui High’s science and math students. “It showed me the importance of education to him. He really did care and our students loved him.”

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