The University of Hawaiʻi and the University of Massachusetts have agreed to collaborate on research and education focused on strengthening energy systems, critical infrastructure and national security, with presidents from both systems putting pen to paper Thursday at Bachman Hall on the UH Mānoa campus.
UH President Wendy F. Hensel and UMass President Marty Meehan signed the five-year memorandum of understanding, according to University of Hawaiʻi System News. The agreement sets up a framework for the two university systems to pursue joint research, student and faculty exchanges, training programs and other initiatives, rather than locking in any specific projects right away.
Potential collaboration areas span cyber-physical systems, microgrids, advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, maritime technologies and sensing, per the same announcement. The agreement also calls for exploring research and workforce development opportunities aligned with U.S. Department of Defense priorities, with an initial focus on energy resilience and critical-infrastructure protection.
Two Coastlines, One Shared Vulnerability
The partnership recognizes the shared importance of resilient infrastructure in Hawaiʻi and Massachusetts — two states, the university system noted, with extensive coastal and maritime environments. Hensel said Hawaiʻi has a responsibility to use its expertise and unique position in the islands to address challenges both locally and across the nation, adding that Hawaiʻi is an important place to develop and test solutions that can strengthen resilience.
Meehan said the agreement creates opportunities for researchers, faculty and students from both institutions to work together on challenges affecting communities across the country, and that the two university systems share a commitment to research and education addressing real-world problems. He also said the partnership can help prepare students for the workforce of the future.
UH Regent Neil Abercrombie, who attended the signing, said the partnership was a perfect opportunity for the two universities. Abercrombie and Meehan reportedly first crossed paths years earlier while both were serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. Also on hand for the signing were UH Mānoa Chancellor Vassilis Syrmos, UH Board of Regents Chair Lauren Akitake, UH Director of Federal Relations Anthony Ching and UMass Lowell Associate Vice Chancellor for Sustainability and Enterprise Development Ruairi O’Mahony.
What a Microgrid Actually Buys You
Microgrids, one of the technologies flagged for potential joint research, are systems that can disconnect from the main power grid and operate independently in what's known as island mode, according to MassCEC. That ability lets a facility keep its lights on even when the broader grid goes down — exactly the kind of resilience both states have been chasing independently for years.
In Massachusetts, MassCEC-backed upgrades gave UMass Amherst more than $1.6 million in federal funds to overhaul its campus microgrid, including new automatic transfer switches at five buildings, protective relay upgrades at 45 locations and an underground duct bank, the organization notes. That campus system now includes advanced battery storage alongside the largest behind-the-meter solar array in the state. MassCEC also funded a separate microgrid for the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department, which received over $2.8 million to support its Energy Park project serving Wakefield High School and Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School.
Hawaiʻi has its own microgrid efforts already underway. Hensel Phelps, Sustainability Partners and the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation broke ground on two microgrid projects on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi featuring solar canopies, battery storage and EV charging stations, according to Solar Builder Magazine. The Oʻahu system is set to serve HDOT Highways' Oʻahu District Main Office Facility near downtown Honolulu.
Defense Dollars Already Flowing to UMass Campuses
The new UH-UMass pact's nod toward Department of Defense-aligned research echoes work already happening at UMass Lowell. The U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research awarded UMass Lowell and Stony Brook University a grant to advance energy-resilience technologies, with UMass Lowell putting the figure at $6.3 million, while Stony Brook University has separately described an earlier Navy grant for similar energy-resiliency research as totaling $7.36 million and running through fall 2022. Researchers on the UMass Lowell-Stony Brook effort are working across 12 projects in four focus areas: power-grid management, structural health monitoring of energy infrastructure, energy storage and materials, and fuels and power systems.
Crucially, UH News notes the new memorandum is a framework rather than a commitment to specific projects — individual research initiatives between UH and UMass would still need to be developed through separate agreements. Whether any of the listed collaboration areas, from microgrids to autonomous systems, actually advance beyond this starting point will depend on those future deals.
