Dr. Hihara is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering with the University Of Hawaii College Of Engineering and runs the Hawaii Corrosion Lab. His research interests are in corrosion behavior of advanced materials in Hawai'i’s micro-climates, corrosion behavior of SiC/Al, boron carbide/Al, alumina/Al, and Si/Al metal-matrix composites, Sol-gel and silane-based liquid-precursor ceramic films for corrosion barriers on metal substrates, corrosion of microelectromechanical systems and materials compatibility of metal alloys coupled to polymer-matrix and ceramic-matrix composites, and monolithic ceramics. He pledged for Pi Tau Sigma at the Hawaii Chapter in 1981 and later became the advisor in 1991.He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1983; his MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1985; and his PhD in Metallurgy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Some awards he received were the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching and the Presidential Young Investigator Award, NSF.

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Email: Hihara@hawaii.edu