Aloha! I am looking to admit one Ph.D. student beginning Fall 2027. The deadline for Ph.D. admission this cycle is December 1st, 2026. I am also open to advising M.S. students in Information Science. The deadline for INFO MS applications is February 2027. I am looking for student’s to work within the following research areas:
Research Areas Computational Social Science Approaches to Environmental Regulation and Public Participation: A core facet of my research agenda is the role and use of Indigenous people, issues, and concepts in regulatory contexts. This can be from federal and state agencies or from the public, but it centers discursive (e.g. conversations and public comments) interactions between stakeholders within regulatory contexts. For example, within environmental regulation (e.g. testimony submitted to the EPA), how do U.S. citizens use the term “Indigenous” in their advocacy? Research contributions will (likely) look like: Application of descriptive statistics/unsupervised machine learning/other text analysis tools; analyses of public discourses concerning the environment/Indigenous peoples/TEK; and qualitative/thick description/grounded theory analyses of regulatory texts. Place-Based, Community Led Research Focused on Environmental Issues: As a descendent of Hawai’i Island, my kuleana (obligation) is to the socio-ecological cycles that have sustained my ancestors. I conduct my ethnographic, embedded work in Kapalilua, South Kona and this takes the form of observation of state-level regulatory processes/testimony and interviews with advocactes. I am looking for students who have communal ties and are seeking to refine their role as researchers alongside their community. I am specifically looking for students who specialize in environmental topics within their community work. Research contributions will (likely) look like: Analyzing and applying community-derived policy; Analyzing and critiquing environmental regulation topically relevant to communities/the Pacific; building new community relationships in service of research. Small-Scale Data Sovereignty: This topic area involves making use of Free and Open-Source (FOSS) software, found/donated hardware, and openly available educational/practical resources to align with community needs. This also involves on-the-ground collaboration with community leaders and subject-matter experts to inform design and selection of software. Research contributions will (likely) look like: Theoretical/practical contributions to Indigenous data sovereignty; Community-based server/system design; and the application of cultural and ceremonial knowledge in the design and implementation of server systems. What am I looking for in a student? The values that I am looking for in prospective students are: intellectual humility and intellectual vulnerability. Can you demonstrate a willingness to externalize your uncertainty in service of your learning and understanding? Is your first instinct when reading or speaking with academic texts one of curiosity and self-awareness? The ability to hold the insights and flaws of the knowledge production process are key to my working relationship with a student, so expect to talk about this should you interview here!
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