Fall 2023 The Alaska Miner 49 Simulations: See what you need to avoid operational bottlenecks. .com banks and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys to address the volcanic hazard to south-central Alaska, resulting in the formation of the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) in 1988, with Tom as the Scientist-in-Charge. During the next 6 years, Tom became a leader in global efforts to reduce the risk of volcanic ash to aviation in the wake of the 1989-90 Redoubt Volcano eruption—which produced an ash cloud that nearly brought down a Boeing 747-400 airliner due to ingestion of ash into the engines. This vital work took him to the far East of Russia in the 1990s where he co-founded the Kamchatka Volcano Eruption Response Team (KVERT). To this day, KVERT works closely with AVO to mitigate the risk of volcanic ash to aircraft in the North Pacific air route corridor. Tom’s work with Russian colleagues to establish KVERT was acknowledged in 2002 when he was awarded the Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease Award. Tom played a key role in addressing the hazard of volcanic ash to aviation, serving as a USGS consultant to airlines, aviation groups, and government agencies. Tom and Tom Casadevall authored a paper on Volcanic Ash Hazards to Aviation, considered to be the standard reference on the topic. Tom’s career produced over 139 peer-reviewed publications. He also was instrumental in the creation of the Level of Concern Color Code system of describing volcanic activity, a scheme now utilized worldwide by volcano observatories. Tom accumulated a rich list of awards and honors over his career, including the Antarctic Service Medal, the USGS Meritorious Service Award, and a Shoemaker Communications Award, and he received the Distinguished Service Award, the highest award of the Department of Interior. After retiring in 2002, Tom continued with AVO as scientist emeritus for 16 years. His vast knowledge of Alaska’s volcanoes and regional geology and his experience responding to eruptions across decades of technological and organizational change made him a valued resource to the new generations of AVO staff. There are endless wonderful Tom Miller stories, from his unexpected overnight stay inside Veniaminof Caldera, to co-creating the aviation color code on a napkin, and scaling 4700-m-high Klyuchevskoy Volcano with Russian colleagues. Tom has left a lasting and profound mark on the USGS, Alaska geology, volcano risk mitigation, and many careers.
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