Dr. Brennon Morioka named new dean for the College of Engineering

Dr. Brennon Morioka has been selected as the next dean of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering and will take on his new role beginning April 1st.

Dr. Morioka currently serves as the general manager for electrification of transportation at the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), whose goal is to increase the adoption of electrified transport, including ground transportation, and airport and harbor operations into Hawaiʻi’s cultural fabric. He was previously the deputy executive director for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.  Prior to that, he served as vice president and area manager of the Honolulu office of CH2M HILL, director of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Transportation, and executive vice president of Shioi Construction.

He currently serves as chair of the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research in addition to the boards of numerous community service and non-profit organizations including the U.S. Japan Council, ʻAhahui Koa Ānuenue, and the Aloha Stadium Authority.

Dr. Morioka received his bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his doctoral studies at UH Mānoa.

He began his career in higher education as a graduate assistant/lecturer teaching undergraduate courses at the UH Mānoa College of Engineering in 1995. Dr. Morioka is a longtime member of the UH Mānoa College of Engineering Dean’s Council and currently serves on its executive committee. He is also a licensed civil engineer in Hawaiʻi and California, and is a graduate of ʻIolani School.

“I am humbled and honored and incredibly grateful to be recommended as the next dean for the College of Engineering. As an alumnus and former instructor, I am excited at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead the college that was so influential in my own life. We not only shape and nurture young minds as we develop the workforce Hawaiʻi needs, but the college of engineering also plays a critical role in advancing Hawaiʻi’s economy in new directions based on innovation and emerging technologies.”

Dr. Morioka will be relieving Dr. H. Ronald Riggs, who has served as interim dean since 2016.