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 col-
leagues 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 volca - nic ash to aviation, serving as a USGS consultant to airlines, aviation groups, and govern - ment agencies. Tom and Tom Casadevall authored a paper on Volcanic Ash Hazards to Avia - tion, considered to be the stan- dard 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 Mer- itorious Service Award, and a Shoemaker Communications
Award, and he received the Dis- tinguished Service Award, the highest award of the Depart - ment of Interior. After retiring in 2002, Tom continued with AVO as scien- tist 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 organization - al change made him a valued resource to the new generations of AVO staff. There are endless wonder- ful 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 col- leagues. Tom has left a lasting and profound mark on the USGS, Alaska geology, volcano risk mitigation, and many careers.
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Fall 2023
The Alaska Miner
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