NEWS

At the beginning of the year, the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) welcomed Dr. Ryan Longman as the new full-time Consortium Program Director at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He joins the PI-CASC Consortium Executive Director Dr. Darren Lerner, Deputy Director Dr. Brad Romine, and a team of dedicated faculty and staff to lead the implementation of PI-CASC Consortium programs, research, and partnerships defined in the university consortium host agreement, which address the climate adaptation challenges in Hawaiʻi and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands.

Ryan is a climate scientist with over 16 years of experience teaching and conducting high-level scientific research in the Pacific, focusing on climate monitoring and mapping as well as data and information dissemination. 

He grew up in New Jersey and, in 1998, came to Hawaiʻi on a whim. “My sense of adventure was what brought me here. I moved to Maui with my twin brother with just a backpack, hammock, and $500 to my name,” said Ryan.

He attended UH Mānoa for graduate school, where he began his fascination with how the climate system worked.  “I really enjoy the art of putting the pieces together to answer research questions and develop relevant tools and resources that a wide variety of folks can interact with and benefit from. I also saw an opportunity to help protect precious environmental resources in the Pacific,” he said.

He completed both his MA and PhD degrees in the Department of Geography at UH Mānoa with a focus on climate science. Currently, he is an Associate Climatologist at the Water Resources Research Center and graduate faculty in the Department of Pacific Island Studies at the UH Mānoa.

His research includes various projects related to climate mapping and attribution of observed change. Currently, he is co-lead on the development of the Hawai‘i Climate Data Portal and the Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange. Ryan is looking forward to melding aspects of these projects into the PI-CASC portfolio and drawing on his wide range of collaborators to co-develop adaptation solutions for a wide range of complex problems. 

“My love for nature and a sincere desire to preserve the natural world really drives my work. But what truly defines me as a person is my family,” Ryan explained. He lives on Oʻahu with his wife, Christina, and their two sons, Kainoa (age 11) and Kelani (age 10).