2025 STEM/STEAM & Education Conference

Date of Conference: June 11, 12 & 13, 2025

Pre-registration: June 10, 2025

Location: Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii

Venue: Prince Waikiki Resort

Submission Deadline: November 27, 2024 December 15, 2024

Aloha and E Komo Mai! (Greetings and Welcome!)

The 14th Annual STEM/STEAM and Education Conference promotes an academia well versed in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math and Education which is a key portion of the public education agenda of the United States. The conference intends to stimulate competitiveness and our nation’s future economic prosperity through encouraging and inspiring more of our best and brightest academics in the study of STEM/STEAM and Education fields.

The conference will be hosted in the city of Honolulu on the island of O’ahu, the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands known as the “Gathering Place”, featuring the unique ‘Aloha Spirit’ which complements the warmth of the people and the perfect temperatures throughout the year. O’ahu is the Jewel and the Heart of the Hawaiian Islands. This gathering place serves as a platform for academicians, researchers and professionals worldwide.

The Hawaii University International Conferences (HUIC) are designed to inspire, engage, challenge and contribute to the growing field of knowledge. Join us in Hawaii for a comprehensive conference, and learn with us in the inspiring atmosphere that our beautiful islands provide.

Me ka `oia`i`o (With sincerity)

HUIC COORDINATORS & STAFF

2025 Keynote Speaker

Dr. Anta'Sha Jones is an Assistant Biology Professor in the Natural Science Department at Albany State University (ASU) in Albany, Georgia. As a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Educator, she has over 17 years of experience inspiring the next generation to consider STEM careers and opportunities. Dr. Jones uses innovative teaching methods that impart knowledge to ASU scholars through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates research through real-world applications, preparing students for careers and graduate programs.  Dr. Jones' passion goes beyond the classroom, providing valuable STEM experiences and opportunities through educational STEM grants that foster student engagement and promote diversity in science.

Dr. Jones will present her keynote address at this year's HUIC STEM/STEAM and Education Conference on "Unmasking Imposter Syndrome (IS): Strategies for Professors to Identify and Support STEM Students Facing Self-Doubt." The presentation will focus on how professors can recognize and address imposter syndrome among their STEM students in an intentionally fostering inclusive academic environment. Audience members will take away effective strategies and methods that can assist STEM students in overcoming their insecurities and building their academic confidence. The session promises to inspire educators to recognize and address the existing imposter syndrome barrier that our students face in the 21st century early on to prepare our students for challenges in science and increase the visibility of students in STEM, including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students.

2025 Keynote Speaker
Anta’Sha M. Jones
Ph.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor of Biology
Albany State University (ASU)
Albany, Georgia.

2024 Keynote Speaker

Dr.  Stefanie Zaklan Duff
2024 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Stefanie Zaklan Duff
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
Vancouver Island University
Canada
Stefanie Zaklan Duff, BSc, MSc, PhD is a Professor of Ecology in the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture at Vancouver Island University on Vancouver Island, in so-called Canada. Her academic background includes degrees from Simon Fraser University, and the University of Alberta as well as educational stays at Duke University, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Friday Harbor Marine Labs, American Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Her parents are George (d 2023) and Evelyn (Greig) Zaklan – teachers, farmers and keepers of the kitchen table. Her Grandparents are Henry (d 2014) and Fay (DeFord; d 2012) Greig, and Marta (Brachika; d 2004) and Dragan Zaklan (d. 1973) – farmers and sharers of the kitchen table. Ah Siem. Stefanie has published in academic journals on the topics of evolution, development, asymmetry, systematics, morphology, behaviour, aquaculture and fisheries. More recently she has turned her thoughts towards indigenizing sciences and understanding what that means in the academic classroom. Specifically, classrooms and laboratory arenas that reside on the lands from which the language Hul’q’umi’num’ emerged. It is these thoughts that she will share. Ah tuna kuyal, hvala, mahalo, huy ach q’ua.

2023 Keynote Speakers

Dr. Anjan Biswas earned his B.Sc (Honors) in Mathematics from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, India. Subsequently, he completed his M.Sc and M. Phil degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of Calcutta. Moving further along, he received MA and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM, USA. Thereafter, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.

Currently, he is the Endowed Chair of Mathematics at Grambling State University that is in Grambling, LA, USA. His current research interest is in Mathematical Photonics. In particular, he focuses on pulse propagation dynamics through optical fibers across trans—oceanic and trans—continental distances. He concentrates on soliton perturbation theory, soliton polarization, quasi—stationary solitons, quasi— particle theory, variational principle as well as semi—inverse variational principle, supercontinuum generation and Lie symmetry analysis that are all applicable to the study of soliton dynamics. In addition, he focuses on quasi—linear pulses, solitons with differential group delay, dispersion—flattened fibers amongst many other topics and concepts.

2023 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Anjan Biswas
Endowed Chair of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics and Physics Grambling State University
Grambling, LA 71245 USA

2023 Keynote Speaker
KWAME BADU ANTWI-BOASIAKO (Ph.D.)
Chair, Department of Government
Stephen F Austin State University

Kwame Badu Antwi-Boasiako ( antwibokb@sfasu.edu ), PhD., a professor, is a former broadcaster, with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation from 1980-1992. Schooled at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, 1989-1991, Accra, Ghana, the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas from 1992-2000 for his bachelor’s degree in journalism and two master’s degrees in journalism and public administration respectively. Attended Mississippi State University from 2000-2004 for a doctorate degree in public policy and administration and international relations. Currently, the Chair of the Department of Government and professor, public administration and political science at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas (https://www.sfasu.edu/academics/colleges/liberal-applied-arts/government/about/faculty-staff ). Courses taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels include International Relations, American Government, Research Methods, Public Policy, and Program Evaluation. Primary research interest includes, terrorism, democracy in Africa, decentralization, affirmative action, and diversity in the public sector. He co-authored a book: Traditional Institutions and Public Administration in Democratic Africa and co-edited: The theories of decentralization and local government: Implementation, implications, and realities: A global perspective. Published in several journals including Political Preferences, International Social Science Review, Journal of Southwest Council of Latin American Studies, Journal of African Studies and Development, Administration and Society, Journal of Public Personnel Management, African Social Science Review, and International Journal of Political Science.

2022 Keynote Speaker

Leo Stocco received his PhD in Electrical Engineering at UBC and went on to lead the robotics group at Integrated Surgical Systems in Davis California. He returned to UBC as a professor where he teaches Control Systems, Medical Instrumenatation, and Design Project courses. He initiated the bio-medical engineering student team which has now grown to over 50 students from Engineering, Business, Kinesiology, Arts and Medicine.

He was awarded the Killam Award for outstanding teaching in 2012 and the Wighton Fellowship for advancements in undergraduate lab course work in 2019. He developed a novel, high-efficiency gearing system and founded a start-up company in 2016 where he develops power transmission solutions for the automotive, medical device, and automation industries.

His publication history spans topics that include robot design, gear systems, mathematical modeling, computer graphics, medical devices, and of course, educational innovation. He has been a regular attendee of the HUIC STEM/STEAM & Education Conference since his first visit in 2016.

2022 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Leo Stocco

2021 Keynote Speaker

2021 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Lindsey Vincent
Associate Dean of Research
Louisiana Tech University

Dr. Lindsey Vincent serves as the Associate Dean of Research, Outreach and Innovation in the College of Education at Louisiana Tech University.

One of her most cherished responsibilities is leading the Science and Technology Education Center (SciTEC) where she has the opportunity to collaborate with academic, community, and corporate colleagues across the nation to develop and implement STEAM-focused initiatives in the PK-20 arena. Key collaborators include Cyber.org, Discovery Education, and Coursera.

SciTEC outreach efforts include serving as home the Louisiana Center for Afterschool Learning funded by the Charles Mott Foundation, the Louisiana NASA Educator Resource Center, the Office of Professional Education Outreach, and the Boulware IDEA Place. Faculty and staff in SciTEC also partner with a number of STEM-focused organizations including the National Girls Collaborative Project, Inter-American Teacher Education Network, Science Olympiad, and Girls Who Code.