First Lady of Limu Memories of an Inspiring Mentor and Botanist

Dr. Isabella Kauakea Yau Yung Aiona Abbott will forever be an icon in Hawai‘i for her academic achievements, revolutionary seaweed research, various accolades, and over a hundred limu-related publications. However, it’s the values she embodied as a person that make her a timeless inspiration to Native Hawaiians and to the entire state of Hawai‘i.

Dr. Abbott grew up in an era when Native Hawaiians confronted harmful misconceptions and offensive stereotypes, and a time when women were seen as lesser than men. She rejected those narratives and instead lived authentically as a passionate young Native Hawaiian woman who became the world’s leading expert on algae in the Pacific. She always credited her love for algae to the limu lessons she learned from her mom while playing on the beach as a child. Her upbringing led her to understand that Hawaiians have always been scientists. She uplifted Hawaiian culture and the relationship that Western science has with Hawaiian culture throughout her algal research in Hawai‘i and California. She inspired University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa to create a Hawaiian ethnobotany bachelor’s degree and touched the lives of countless students through her teachings. She once said in an interview, “Hawaiian culture is unbelievably sophisticated,” and every day she embodied the meaning of those words.

Dr. Abbott is a treasure to scientists, Hawai‘i, Native Hawaiians, and anyone told that they can’t do something because of their background. She will always be remembered and honored as one of Hawai‘i’s most inspirational leaders.