Dr. Hamnett is the Executive Director of the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii (RCUH), whose mission is to support the research and training programs of the University of Hawaii and to enhance research, development, and training generally in Hawaii. Dr. Hamnett’s professional interests include research management, disaster mitigation and preparedness, climate variability and change, participatory planning, ocean and coastal resources management, policy research management, governance and public administration in small islands states, program evaluation, sustainable economic development, fisheries development and management, environmental resource management, developing island countries and territories.
Dr. Hamnett also currently serves as the Principal Investigator for the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative Research Program. This joint venture, between the University of Hawaii and the State Department of Land and Natural Resources is designed to develop, manage and monitor a collaborative coral reef research program. Dr. Hamnett also serves as the Chair and Program Director of the Statewide Hazard Mitigation Forum which distributes information to the public and conducts an education campaign. This program is funded by FEMA and NOAA/OCRM through State Civil Defense and thee Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program. The program educates the public about the risks of natural disaster in Hawaii and what can be done to reduce the risk.
Dr. Hamnett has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology with an ethnographic focus in Oceania. He has completed additional research in Geography and Linguistics.
