Oceana Puananilei Francis, Ph.D. P.E. 

Professor, Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering (CECE), University of Hawai’i at Manoa (UHM)
Joint Appointment, Sea Grant College Program, UHM

I am a Professor (tenured) in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering with a joint appointment in Sea Grant College Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM). I am a licensed engineer with the State of Hawaii Professional Engineer (Civil) License No. 15223 and a licensed engineer with the State of Alaska Professional Engineer (Civil) License No. 11226. I have worked on numerous engineering projects throughout Hawaii and Alaska since 2000.

My professional engineering work in Alaska includes Arctic engineering and engineering for extreme environments, focusing on built infrastructure projects which include: civil site design, utilities, freshwater, stormwater, wastewater, groundwater, solid waste, piping and instrumentation, coastal and offshore in environments such as permafrost, extreme wind or snow loads, and extreme pressures and temperatures. Notably, this includes working on many rural infrastructure projects under Senator Ted Stevens’ administration in Alaska; the relocation of villages due to climate change and ocean hazards; and the decommissioning of outdated systems and strategic reconfiguration of new electrification replacements for the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).

I have organized four expeditions (2003, 2004, 2007 and 2009) in the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea and six expeditions in the Hawaii region (2014, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024), as well as working with satellite sea wave (SW) observations, numerical modeling and laboratory experiments with the goal of studying local sea wave (SW) conditions. Some of my notable contributions includes being the first to find a significant increase in significant wave height (SWH) in the Arctic Ocean (AO); contributing towards defining the pathways of the freshwater which is permanently accumulating in the Beaufort Sea since 2000; and the optimization of sea surface drifter observations in the AO. With my most recent Arctic work, I have also contributed in optimizing the rheology in sea ice models. In parallel, I have also studied the oceanic processes in the Hawaii and North Pacific regions, which includes the projection of the extreme wave climate in the North Pacific Ocean and swell effects on the Hawaiian Islands; sea level rise and vertical land motion in the Hawaiian Islands; coastal exposure of the Hawaiian Islands; and assessing vulnerability and risk to ecosystems, built infrastructure and societies and the feasibility of implementing different engineered adaptations. This has led to work on high-visibility projects on coastal hazards for the State of Hawaii and Hawaii’s counties.

I have collaboratively led 26 engineering research projects totaling $7.8M with NSF, DOT, DLNR, NFWF, and USACE; and have additionally worked on 33 engineering projects in the industry. I have also obtained equipment for the CECE Department totaling $500K. I have over 110 publications in the form of articles, book chapters, technical reports, databases, conference proceedings and conference publications. My research and teaching spans across different disciplines and departments, where I have been promoting healthy coastal ecosystems (e.g. reinstating our Hawaiian fishponds, coral reef health, sea ice impacts to northern communities) and creating sustainable local communities in Hawaii and Alaska.

In teaching, I have taught many required and technical classes which includes: CEE 320: Fluid Mechanics Fundamentals; CEE 421: Engineering Hydraulics; CEE489B: Surveying & AutoCAD; CEE489C: Professional Ethics; CEE490: Senior Design Project; CEE 622: Fluid Mechanics; and CEE 691: Seminar in Civil Engineering.

I have created and taught three new courses: two graduate courses which are cross-listed across three UH departments (CEE, ORE, SUST) at UHM, CEE 624 Coastal Modeling and CEE 621 Coastal Flood Mitigation, which I have taught since 2019; and one undergraduate course CEE 440 Vulnerability & Adaptation of Coastal Infrastructure. Collectively, with other UH campus departments, I have also been involved with helping to create an undergraduate certificate in sustainability and a graduate certificate in Hawaiian land and resources. I currently chair/ committee nine graduate students and one postdoc at UH; and mentor one postdoc and two tenure-track engineering faculty for the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). I have previously chaired/committed 52 graduate research students, 22 undergraduate research students, and six high school research students. I have also helped mentor and lead junior faculty on grants, such as Kahoolawe faculty retreats where I taught sustainability methods in water resources and coastal applications.

My other current institutional and professional appointments includes serving as editor for American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology; faculty advisor to American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Chapter at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; former BAM advisor and program coordinator, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa; cooperating faculty, Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering at University of Hawaii; committee member for the Mapping Science Committee (MSC) to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; affiliate professor, International Arctic Research Center, Fairbanks, AK; and president and board of directors member, Society of Native Hawaiian Engineers (SNHE).

I was born and raised on Oahu. My maternal grandmother is Kaulaloha from Kauai (Hawaiian) and my maternal grandfather is Akiu from the Big Island (Hawaiian-Chinese). My paternal grandmother is Carroll from Connecticut (Irish) and my paternal grandfather is Francis from Connecticut (French, English, Scottish). The Francis came to settle in North America (what is now Connecticut) in 1623 by Captain Robert Francis who were French Huguenots. Growing up, I traveled by sailboat around the Pacific Ocean and by motorhome around North America with my parents. I enjoy golfing and traveling on my spare time.