UH Hilo Announces Research Facility Planned To House Both USGS-HVO and PIERC

UH Hilo has plans on building a 60,000 sq ft integrated research center to jointly house both the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) and the Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center (PIERC). The proposed facility would act as a sister site for the 13,000 sq ft Architects Hawaii Ltd. designed field station being constructed inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The UH Hilo facility would house laboratory, administration, and support infrastructure. “At UH Hilo, we are honored to host HVO on our campus, " said UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin "and excited about the benefits that this partnership can have for our students, who will be able to interact with HVO and PIERC staff and envision careers in the earth sciences,” Following the onset of the 2018 eruption, USGS-HVO had to abandon their previous offices positioned on the edge of the Kilauea Caldera due to damages sustained as shallow magma reservoir drained, feeding the LERZ eruption miles down the East Rift Zone. Structural damages were deemed unrepairable to their offices attached to the famous, and also closed Jaggar Museum. USGS-HVO moved to the old Ironworks building in Hilo temporarily until they could find a more permanent home. “We are honored to be chosen to design these significant projects that are exciting and have a mission that resonates with us,” said Nathan Saint Clare, AHL principal-in-charge. “We plan to provide state-of-the-art facilities that will enrich the Hawaiʻi Island community for years to come.”