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Professional Background
Professional Background
Field camp selfie in the Sierra Nevadas (California, 2019)
My name is Mahinaokalani (she/her). My name means "heavenly moon" or "falling moon" in 'Ōlelo Hawai'i (Hawaiian language). I tend to go by "Mahina" for simplicity. I am Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) and hapa (mixed-race) which is fused in many ways with my identity as a geoscientist. As a Native scientist, I recognize the kuleana (responsibility) that I have with incorporating Indigenous knowledge into geoscience. Now that I am pursuing a space in academia, I see myself as a bridge between the worlds of Western and Native science, often at odds.
I am currently a PhD student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology Division. I graduated with my M.S. in geology from Western Washington University (WWU, Bellingham, WA) in 2023, from William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA) in 2021 with my B.S. in geology, and from Virginia Peninsula Community College (Hampton, VA) in 2018 with my A.S. in science. I am a nontraditional student and have over a decade of experience in customer service, sales, graphic design, printing services, volunteer services, and professional portrait sketching. While I have an eclectic work history, my true passion is volcanology!
My PhD focuses on trace element and isotope geochemistry of basaltic lavas in Dr. Aaron Pietruszka's isotope lab. I will be working on the samples from Kīlauea to better understand shallow magma storage and eruption dynamics from 2008 to present. Stay tuned for more information!
My master's thesis focused on magmatic systems at intermediate arc volcanoes and work with Dr. Kristina Walowski at the ERVPT lab at WWU. Please visit my Research page for more details on my Current Projects. While attending William & Mary for my undergraduate degree, I was able to join the Coastal Geology Lab at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and had the privilege of working with Dr. Christopher Hein learning about the effects of decadal to centennial sediment transport along the Virginia Eastern Shore. You can read more about this work under Past Projects on my Research page.
Nānā i Ke Kumu
Nānā i Ke Kumu
(Look to the Source)
(Look to the Source)
My mother, Lisa Noelani Robbins (May 4, 1967 - June 6, 2025) was my kumu since the day I was born. She is the reason why I do what I do and why I am who I am. She taught me to be passionate about our culture, to seek out and invest in education, and to shoot for the stars. When I would share my doubts about my ability to earn a graduate degree, she would say, "Hina, I know you can go all the way."
My mother was a kumu hula, Hawaiian quilter, and cultural practitioner. She operated 'Ohana Arts Studio in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia since 2006. She was featured on William & Mary's website when she was a student in 2012. She spread love, laughter, and aloha wherever she went.
She was a perpetual dreamer, and I have inherited that insatiable spirit.
My mother with some of her Hawaiian quilting designs, a skill she taught to her haumana (students) in Virginia. (Photo: Stephen Salpukas)
My mother and her ipu, which I crafted and designed for her to dance with. She taught many keiki (children) and adults in Virginia. (Photo: Stephen Salpukas)
My mother and I after I earned my master's degree in geology from Western Washington University in 2023. She valued education and I am so lucky she got to see me earn my first graduate degree.
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