Thomas C. Pierson

Tom is an internationally recognized authority on lahars and posteruptive sedimentation in volcanically disturbed watersheds. He retired in 2018 after 38 years as a research geologist/hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory, serving four of those years as Associate Scientist in Charge. For many years he was also an adjunct professor of geology at Portland State University. Investigations over his career focused on understanding the behavior of hazardous wet flows in volcanic and nonvolcanic terrain and on communicating with officials and the public about geologic and hydrologic hazards. Research projects and volcano crisis responses took him beyond the Cascade Range to Alaska, Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile.

Lee is globally recognized for his work on volcanic debris avalanches. He spent 37 years with the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), where he researched and analyzed data on the physical characteristics, eruption chronologies, and eruptive characteristics of the world's volcanoes. He served as a GVP director from 2007 to 2010. Field research projects, primarily on volcanic debris-avalanche deposits, took him to volcanoes in Alaska, the Cascade Range, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, and Indonesia. Following an assignment to the US Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) prior to his retirement to the Pacific Northwest in 2011, he continued as a Smithsonian research associate for a dozen years while volunteering at CVO.

Kevin is recognized around the world as an expert on large lahars from active and inactive volcanoes. He retired from his position as a research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory, in which capacity he received the Department of the Interior’s Distinguished Service Award, the highest award for service to that agency. He was also a senior international professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences from 2009 to 2011. His years of working on international volcano crisis responses are documented in his book, The Voice of This Stone—Learning from Volcanic Disasters Around the World (Carpe Diem Press, 2019).