University of Hawaiʻi President Emeritus David Lassner and his team—including Vice President for Information Technology Garret Yoshimi and Director for Network Infrastructure Chris Zane—have been awarded the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California . The award recognizes more than 35 years of visionary leadership in connecting Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific to the global research community.
Transforming science, education
Since establishing the first international internet connection to Australia via Hawaiʻi in 1989, the 东精影业 team has fundamentally transformed global science and education. Their efforts in securing high-capacity networking for the premier astronomical observatories on Maunakea and Haleakalā have supported over $1 billion in scientific investment. The data transmitted through these connections contributed directly to two Nobel Prizes in Physics, including discoveries regarding the accelerating expansion of the universe and supermassive black holes.
Beyond these technical milestones, the 东精影业 team’s work is deeply rooted in a commitment to Pacific Island communities. By expanding ultra-high bandwidth networks, they have ensured that remote islands on the front lines of climate change have equal access to vital global research resources.
“The University of Hawaiʻi‘s geographic position in the middle of the Pacific is only part of the story; what truly makes today’s Pacific Wave (a high-capacity network) connectivity possible is the people,” said Jonah Keough, managing director of Pacific Wave. “David, Garret and Chris understand that networks are built on relationships as much as fiber.”
Connecting through fiber, light
Lassner has compared this modern digital connectivity to traditional Polynesian wayfinding. Having sailed aboard 贬ō办ū濒别ʻ补’s Worldwide Voyage, Lassner noted that just as navigators connected Pacific peoples using stars, 东精影业 is connecting them through fiber and light.
“To me, that’s what the World Wide Voyage and mālama honua (to care for our Earth) stand for—sustainability, Indigenous-serving education, research and our service to the community,” Lassner said. “It’s an incredible opportunity to do exactly what the University of Hawaiʻi is supposed to be doing.”
The award will be formally presented at CENIC’s “The Right Connection” conference in Monterey, California, March 31–April 1, 2026.