At the Water's Edge (Pioneering Seaweed Scientist Dr. Isabella Aiona Abbott)

As a child in the 1920s, Izzie Aiona collected limu (seaweed) at Waikiki Beach with her mother and other Native Hawaiian women. In an era when many girls were not encouraged to pursue an education, Izzie thrived in school. While studying to become a botanist, she found ways to bring together traditional Hawaiian knowledge and scientific rigor. Isabella Aiona Abbott became the first Native Hawaiian to earn a PhD in a scientific field and discovered hundreds of previously unknown species of limu. She lived to the age of ninety-one, and her influence continues—both through her discoveries and through the work of all those she generously mentored and influenced.