{"id":235754,"date":"2026-06-08T14:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=235754"},"modified":"2026-06-08T14:21:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:21:28","slug":"ai-tool-natural-hazard-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/08\/ai-tool-natural-hazard-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo exploring AI<\/abbr> as tool for natural hazard intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Halemaʻumaʻu<\/span> north vent lava fountain captured on June 1. (Photo credit: USGS<\/abbr>\/M. Zoeller)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A data scientist at the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Hilo has launched a year-long project to explore how artificial intelligence (AI<\/abbr>) can help scientists, students, emergency managers, and the public better understand natural hazards such as volcanic activity, wildfires, tsunamis, and other disasters. The main idea of the project, named VULCAN-AI<\/abbr>, is to use AI<\/abbr> as a support tool for hazard intelligence and public communication.<\/p>\n

“During a disaster, there is often a huge amount of information coming in at once: live camera feeds, satellite images, sensor readings, weather data, maps and scientific reports,” said Sukhwa Hong, 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo associate professor of data science<\/a> and business administration<\/a> who specializes in AI<\/abbr> for business analytics. “VULCAN-AI<\/abbr> is designed to help organize that information and turn it into clear, plain-language summaries that people can understand.”<\/p>\n

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF<\/abbr>)\u2019s National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Pilot<\/a> throughout the next year, Hong plans to build and test the AI<\/abbr>-agent system using live Hawaiʻi<\/span> Island volcano feeds, environmental data, and example volcanic and wildfire scenarios.<\/p>\n

He emphasizes that the goal of the project is not to replace scientists or official emergency alerts. Instead, the goal is to show how AI<\/abbr> can responsibly support human experts by helping detect changes, organize information, and explain what is happening more clearly to the public.<\/p>\n

“What excites me most is that this project shows a positive use of AI<\/abbr>,” said Hong. “AI<\/abbr> is often discussed as a threat, but when used carefully and responsibly, it can help communities, support science, improve emergency communication, respect local knowledge, and give students hands-on experience with technology that serves the public good.”<\/p>\n

He plans to hire 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo students through NSF<\/abbr>\u2019s Change Hawaiʻi<\/span><\/a> undergraduate research program to work with him on AI<\/abbr> testing, live-feed monitoring, data preparation, visualization and public communication.<\/p>\n

For more go to 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

—By Susan Enright, 糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo Stories<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

糖心视频<\/abbr> Hilo data scientist Sukhwa Hong launched a project using AI<\/abbr> to help improve natural hazard communication and safety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1602,498,1176,1409,14,907],"class_list":["post-235754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-ai","tag-business","tag-data-science","tag-disaster-emergency","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-hilo-stories","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t