Maria Burke

1 week ago | honolulumagazine.com | Maria Burke

Growing up in Kailua, my friends and I used to meet under the Buzz’s sign before setting out for summertime fun. More than 25 years later, Buzz’s remains a neighborhood fixture—almost exactly as it was—across from Kailua Beach. Still one of the town’s only “fancy” restaurants, yet with laid-back, beachy charm, it’s an expression of the area itself. This almost-in-Lanikai landmark is more than a restaurant—it’s where we grew up. As a child, it’s where you go for special dinners with your family.

1 month ago | chemistryworld.com | Maria Burke

A recent article in the South China Morning Post declared that chemistry in the US and Europe seemed to be dying, while China was forging ahead. It noted that Chinese universities were now monopolising the top 20 spots for chemistry in the Nature Index, a global indicator of high-quality research output. Meanwhile, western institutions face cutbacks and closures, as China appears to be cementing its dominance. But is chemistry really dying a slow death in Europe and the US?

2 months ago | edu.rsc.org | Maria Burke

How to make sense of the changes coming your way Source: © Christoph Wagner/Getty Images Are the governments planning to change school curriculums and assessments? It looks like it. At present, governments are reviewing school curriculums across the UK and Ireland and changes are afoot. What will changes look like in England?

Jan 28, 2025 | honolulumagazine.com | Maria Burke

Leave your expectations of pad thai and evil jungle prince at the door and get in line. On a rainy Smith Street in Chinatown, the piercing pink of a neon sign beckons us into the bustling, vibrant space that is SingSing Thai Street Food. The decor inside Honolulu’s newest Thai eatery is a jangle of red, orange, pink, purple and aqua, and it works. It looks nothing like its predecessor in this space, Opal Thai, or any other restaurant in town.

Jan 28, 2025 | chemistryworld.com | Maria Burke

Nobel prize winners and the Astronomer Royal have joined over 600 other signatories in an open letter addressed to science minister Patrick Vallance demanding the Medical Research Council (MRC) revisit funding changes that could lead to the closure of thriving research units. There are 19 existing units at UK universities that receive, in total, rolling funding from the MRC of about £100 million annually.