Ms. Stephanie A. Whalen has been the president and director, and now the executive director, of the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, formerly the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association since 1994. The organization is a non-profit research institution formed in 1882 to maintain, advance, improve and protect the sugar industry in Hawaii and to support the development of agriculture in general, including the support of an experiment station. With the downsizing of the sugar industry in Hawaii the organization shifted its emphasis to the development of new agricultural businesses and services. With the closing of one of the last two sugar companies, HARC converted to a 501c3, a scientific 'charitable' organization.
The islands offer specific and unique environmental conditions that provide competitive advantages to certain agricultural activities. The organization seeks those activities to expand the business opportunities as well as provide cutting edge technologies to production of the expanding tropical crops. Ms. Whalen's efforts have been directed to maintaining the professional expertise and research capabilities of the organization during this transition. She is also responsible for the property and asset management. The company has approximately 50 employees located at 3 sites on Oahu.
Throughout the past century the institution was not only involved in crop yield and quality improvement, but also by-product research and development in paper, building materials, energy and fine chemicals from agricultural waste fibers. Sugarcane is one of the highest biomass producing crops and Hawaii provides excellent year round growing conditions for biomass production. Grass wide-hybrids and oil tree crops are being targeted as potential biofuel crops.
For 31 years, Ms. Whalen has worked within the sugarcane industry. She started as a pesticide residue chemist. When she became the head of the Environmental Science Department her responsibilities included planning and directing research on environmental chemistry, pesticide metabolism, and chemical drift and air, water, and soil quality monitoring. Chemical safety, waste disposal, and wastewater treatment were also under the purview of the department, as well as the monitoring and study of crop-protection chemicals used by the sugar industry; and planning and directing research in support of registration of new crop-protection chemicals. Because of concerns with air quality due to cane burning considerable research involved alternate uses for cane fiber trash in the field.
During the past 30 years, Ms. Whalen has represented agricultural interests at the state legislature and as an active member of many of the Hawaii state task forces and other advisory groups and committees established to address various environmental regulatory issues.
The islands offer specific and unique environmental conditions that provide competitive advantages to certain agricultural activities. The organization seeks those activities to expand the business opportunities as well as provide cutting edge technologies to production of the expanding tropical crops. Ms. Whalen's efforts have been directed to maintaining the professional expertise and research capabilities of the organization during this transition. She is also responsible for the property and asset management. The company has approximately 50 employees located at 3 sites on Oahu.
Throughout the past century the institution was not only involved in crop yield and quality improvement, but also by-product research and development in paper, building materials, energy and fine chemicals from agricultural waste fibers. Sugarcane is one of the highest biomass producing crops and Hawaii provides excellent year round growing conditions for biomass production. Grass wide-hybrids and oil tree crops are being targeted as potential biofuel crops.
For 31 years, Ms. Whalen has worked within the sugarcane industry. She started as a pesticide residue chemist. When she became the head of the Environmental Science Department her responsibilities included planning and directing research on environmental chemistry, pesticide metabolism, and chemical drift and air, water, and soil quality monitoring. Chemical safety, waste disposal, and wastewater treatment were also under the purview of the department, as well as the monitoring and study of crop-protection chemicals used by the sugar industry; and planning and directing research in support of registration of new crop-protection chemicals. Because of concerns with air quality due to cane burning considerable research involved alternate uses for cane fiber trash in the field.
During the past 30 years, Ms. Whalen has represented agricultural interests at the state legislature and as an active member of many of the Hawaii state task forces and other advisory groups and committees established to address various environmental regulatory issues.