Leinani Lozi Honored with 40 Under 40 Award
Award honors Lozi’s work at the intersection of culture and astronomy
4 Sept. 2024
Born on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu, Leinani Lozi’s interest in the cosmos can be traced back to an astronomy class she took at the University of Hawaiʻi. There she learned about astronomy’s sacred connection to Native Hawaiian culture and the world-class science being conducted at the Maunakea Observatories, including the 8.1-meter Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab. In 2015 she joined Gemini as a public information and outreach intern and has worked in astronomy education and engagement at various facilities ever since.
The impact that Lozi has had on her local community over the last 10 years has not gone unnoticed. On 29 August 2024 she was presented with Pacific Business News Honolulu’s 40 Under 40 Award, which recognizes young leaders in Hawaiʻi for their professional achievements and contributions to the community. This award pays homage to Lozi’s dedicated efforts to connect astronomical research with the history, traditions and scientific knowledge of Hawaiian culture.
In her current role at Gemini as the Hawaiʻi Education and Engagement Manager, Lozi leads many programs including Gemini’s flagship Journey Through the Universe program. Journey promotes science education and STEM careers to children from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The program is run by Gemini/NSF NOIRLab and the Hawaiʻi Department of Education Hilo-Waiākea Complex Area.
We tell the students that the science happens just an hour away.
Journey, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, features classroom visits, career panels, teacher workshops, and more, all designed to educate and inspire students. The 2024 program reached 4383 students across 14 schools in more than 160 classrooms. Lozi said the program is a big hit with teachers, and the most requested topic was astronomy related to Hawaiʻi.
“We tell the students that the science happens just an hour away,” Lozi says, referring to the telescopes near the summit of Maunakea, the highest point in Hawaiʻi and one of the most scientifically productive sites in the world.
In one Journey lesson, students use diffraction glasses to explore how white light can be split into all the colors of the rainbow. Through engaging in hands-on observations and activities, students learn that astronomers use the same technique to separate a distant object’s light into its component wavelengths, which among other things can reveal the chemical compounds within.
“Astronomy is like looking at rainbows in space,” says Lozi. “Rainbows are culturally significant in Hawaiian culture, so it’s meaningful for the students to relate them to how scientists learn about the Universe.”
She’s been instrumental in maintaining the program and keeping it vibrant. I'm very confident that she’ll take it to exciting places going forward.
Lozi’s supervisor, Peter Michaud, said the 40 Under 40 Award was much deserved. He lauded her work with the Journey program and described her as a person with “a million ideas” on how to reach students and educators. “She’s been instrumental in maintaining the program and keeping it vibrant,” says Michaud. “I'm very confident that she’ll take it to exciting places going forward.”
The 40 Under 40 award is about more than just professional achievements — honorees must also be active in their communities. Lozi is a volunteer outreach coordinator with ʻOhana Kilo Hōkū, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit that connects youth with astronomy and the night sky. The group organizes free public stargazing events across Hawaiʻi where participants look through telescopes and learn about constellation folklore and wayfinding.
Last year, the group hosted a Makahiki stargazing event at Ku'īlioloa Heiau, a sacred place used by voyagers for training. It was the first time in many decades that astronomers were invited to bring telescopes into a spiritual and culturally significant location.
It’s important for our kids to understand the science that takes place at the Maunakea Observatories.
Lozi enjoys her current role and wants to continue expanding her knowledge of cultural astronomy, believing that it is especially important to teach children about the science happening in their own backyards and connect it to their origins. “It’s important for our kids to understand the science that takes place at the Maunakea Observatories, which includes astronomy, conservation and more. Being able to connect that science to their own culture instills in them a sense of identity and place.”
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