Mauka Lani Elementary School teacher Bryan Rankie was named Milken Educators of Hawaii’s "Teacher of Promise."
Rankie received a plaque, a gift and $1,000 through a sponsorship from the HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union as this year’s honoree. The award is given to teachers who demonstrate excellence as professional educators in the classroom. Established in 2007, the award alternates annually between elementary and secondary school teachers.
Rankie joined Mauka Lani Elementary in 2011 as a general education fifth-grade teacher.
"Bryan has an excellent rapport with everyone within our school, especially the students," said Shelley Ferrara, principal of the Makakilo school. "He has an innate ability to connect with students through their academic strengths and interests."
A graduate of The College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., Rankie holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and a bachelor’s degree in childhood education.
Other honors:
» An Oahu-based Coast Guardsman was recognized as 2012 enlisted person of the year for the 14th Coast Guard District. Petty Officer 2nd Class Erich J. Klinger, an aviation survival technician assigned to Air Station Barbers Point, received the award April 6.
Klinger has been involved in 10 search-and-rescue missions in which he saved three lives, the Coast Guard said. He also took it upon himself to repair two life rafts that had been believed to be irreparable, rebuilt 12 oxygen heads for life rafts, and redistributed surplus parachutes and survival suits to other aviation units, saving the Coast Guard more than $22,000.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Juan Taijeron, a boatswain’s mate assigned to Station Apra Harbor in Guam, was chosen as Reserve enlisted person of the year.
The 14th Coast Guard District covers the central Pacific and has stations in Hawaii and Guam.
» University of Hawaii-Manoa mechanical engineering assistant professor Yi Zuo has received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award. The award is one of the science foundation’s most prestigious and competitive for junior researchers.
Zuo received a five-year, $400,000 grant for his proposal titled "CAREER: Biophysical Mechanisms of Pulmonary Surfactant and Its Interactions with Therapeutic Agents."
The research proposal aims to better understand the molecular mechanisms of lung surfactant, which is crucial to maintaining normal respiratory function in air sacs of the lung, a UH news release said. The project’s goal is to help expand the use of clinical surfactants to treat various neonatal and adult respiratory diseases, including respiratory distress syndrome.
» Washington Middle School placed first at the 30th MathCounts state competition March 9 at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus.
Thirty-seven students competed to represent Hawaii at the Raytheon MathCounts national competition in Washington, D.C., on May 10.
Representing Hawaii at the national competition will be Jesse Doan, Seabury Hall, first place at the state competition; Branden Tsuji-Jones, Washington Middle School (second place); Felix Peng, Waiakea Intermediate School (third); and Alvin Yang, Washington Middle School (fourth). Their coach is Sung Park of Washington Middle School.
MathCounts promotes middle-school mathematics achievement. It is sponsored locally by the Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers in cooperation with Hawaii educators and with financial help from Hawaiian Electric Co.
» Hawaii was the only state government to be recognized as part of the 2013 Federal 100 Awards by Federal Computer Week magazine, Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced in a press release.
State Chief Information Officer Sanjeev "Sonny" Bhagowalia will be presented with the award.
The Fed 100 Awards recognize top leaders in industry, academia and government who had the greatest impact on the government information systems community in 2012. This year’s honorees include 22 from industry, two from academia, 75 from the federal government, and Hawaii.
"Sonny has built confidence and momentum across government agencies, industry leaders and the people of Hawaii toward modernizing our state’s aging technology infrastructure and systems, a long-term investment that will improve government and business processes," Abercrombie said. "His work transcends technology into a new way of doing business in Hawaii and providing public services."
