A newly established endowed scholarship will help future astronomers shoot for the stars.
Hilo residents Newton and Roberta Chu donated $35,000 to establish the scholarship fund, which honors late Native Hawaiian astronomer Paul Coleman.
Coleman, who died unexpectedly in January, was the first Native Hawaiian with a degree in astrophysics. He spent 16 years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Institute for Astronomy, where he was instrumental in education and outreach efforts, according to the university.
“Coleman was a strong advocate for increasing Hawaiian participation in the sciences and worked tirelessly to bridge the astronomy and Hawaiian communities,” reads an announcement from UH-Manoa. “For nearly a decade, he led the IfA National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates, a highly competitive program that brings a dozen undergraduates from around the country to conduct research with IfA astronomers during the summer.”
Attorney Newton Chu, whose son is studying to be an astronomer, said he and his wife always look for ways to help kids in the community do well.
He met Coleman “many, many years ago” and “was looking forward to doing a lot of work with him in the field of astronomy.”
“When Paul passed away, we were really saddened by that, and we lost somebody who was very inspirational,” Chu said. “We decided, well, maybe we can help by creating an opportunity for others to follow in his footsteps as a leading local astronomer.”
Roberta Chu said the couple are “supportive of astronomy.”
She leads the commercial banking division for the Bank of Hawaii on the Big Island and sees “what’s going on in the economy, and I feel that astronomy has been … an important contributor to the Hawaii Island economy.”
For her, providing the scholarship is “about how we can sustain the economy on Hawaii Island. … I just feel that this scholarship will help Hawaii state, but in particular, hopefully, Hawaii Island students. It will get them to consider pursuing science, physics, technology careers, which in the long run will improve their lives.”
They wanted to honor Coleman because he represents the Native Hawaiian community and “very much … tried to inspire our local students to pursue education in astrophysics,” Roberta Chu said.
“We would like to see other kids become explorers,” Newton Chu said.
Bob McLaren, interim director of the Institute for Astronomy, said the scholarships will support undergraduate students pursuing a degree in astronomy at the Hilo and Manoa UH campuses. They must be a graduate of a Hawaii high school.
He said it’s great to see Coleman honored in this way.
“It’s right in tune with what he wanted to see happen,” McLaren said. “Paul believed strongly that access to these sites was a unique resource for Hawaii and Hawaii residents, and young people should definitely be involved. … He was very keen on having local young people get involved in (astronomy) to the maximum extent they could.”
Coleman, who McLaren said was a popular instructor, served as a “mentor and encourager of a lot of our local students.”
Roberta Chu said the couple view the donation as “initial seed money” and are hoping it generates interest and support from others so it can grow to support more students.
Email Stephanie Salmons at ssalmons@hawaiitribune-herald.com