Paul C. Yuen, a retired dean at the University of Hawaii College of Engineering who promoted telecommunications and high technology in the Pacific, died Nov. 8 in Honolulu. He was 84.
From 1961 to his retirement in 1999, Yuen spent 38 years at the University of Hawaii in various positions, including College of Engineering dean for 18 years, UH-Manoa vice president for academic affairs, and even acting UH president after Albert J. Simone stepped down from the job in 1992.
"He really enjoyed his jobs," said Yuen’s wife, Janice. "He enjoyed teaching when he first started, and when he got more involved in the administrative side, he enjoyed that, too."
"He was probably the most respected engineer in town because of his position, attitude and achievements," added Patrick Takahashi, director emeritus of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and longtime friend and colleague of Yuen. "The dean of engineering tends to be the highest-ranking engineer in town and he (Yuen) worked closely with the local community. That’s what deans are supposed to do — reach out."
In 1971, Yuen helped design and build the first Pan-Pacific Education and Communication Experiments by Satellite, or PEACESAT, Earth stations, to provide telecommunications services throughout the Pacific Islands, where such services were underdeveloped. In its 40 years, the program has evolved to provide essential telecommunications services in education, health care and other areas of public service in the region.
In the mid-1980s, he helped start the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, a local nonprofit dedicated to promoting sustainable technology development in areas such as renewable energy, natural disaster management and agriculture, and later went on to co-found the International OTEC Association, an international organization for the advancement of ocean thermal energy conversion and deep ocean water applications technology.
He served on the boards of directors of several local companies, including Hawaiian Electric Co. and Cyanotech, a nutritional supplement company specializing in microalgae technology.
"To us, he was just Dad," said Sandra Harano, Yuen’s eldest daughter. "Hearing about these things, we knew he worked hard, but wow. … He had told my mom that even though he had all of these achievements, his greatest achievement was his daughters and grandchildren. We were what he was most proud of."
After his retirement, Yuen continued to mentor students at UH, while enjoying retirement, golfing, reading, trading stocks online and going to the gym.
Yuen, a 1946 Roosevelt High School graduate, received his bachelor’s in physics from the University of Chicago in 1952. He went on to earn his master’s and doctorate in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he taught after working as an engineer for Standard Coil Products and the Armour Research Foundation.
Yuen was born in 1928 in Hilo. In addition to wife Janice and daughter Sandra Harano, he is survived by daughter Marcia Ito and four grandchildren.
Visitation: 9:30 a.m. Monday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary. Services: 10:30 a.m. Casual attire. No flowers. Donations suggested to University of Hawaii Foundation.
