Nicole Lautze
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Professor
Nicole's passions for groundwater, geothermal energy, and carbon storage are based on her concern for the planet. She believes we need to unite to solve climate change and preserve our planet for future generations.
Nicole is a Full Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she founded and directs the Hawaii Groundwater and Geothermal Resources Center (HGGRC). During her eight years as faculty, she has secured grants/donations worth over ~$40 million as Principal Investigator and co-Investigator and funded the employment of over 50 postdoctoral fellows, staff members, and students. As a testament to her accomplishments, Nicole received the Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) Education Award from the MIT Energy Initiative and the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy in 2017. Thanks to the DOE-funded National Geothermal Data System and Hawaii Play Fairway projects, Nicole’s geothermal research has been primarily focused in Hawaii. Now, it is now expanding to other states, territories, and countries.
While leading the five-year Hawaii Play Fairway project, Nicole worked amongst bright and excited colleagues at all levels. The drilling project on the Lanai Island resulted in not only data that confirmed a potential resource, but also hydrological findings that will inform groundwater management across the state. In 2015, Nicole launched the HGGRC website (www.higp.hawaii.edu/hggrc), which has generated hundreds of thousands of hits and reinvigorated datasets that would otherwise have been lost (including drill core photos).
Nicole earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from UCLA (among the top 50 graduating seniors) and a PhD in Geology and Geophysics from University of Hawaii at Manoa. She received two Fulbright fellowships (to Italy and Peru), a National Science Foundation International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (to Italy), and a U.S. Geological Survey Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship.