Volcano Watch: Big Island high school grad joins University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo as geology professor

By Thomas Lee, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Geology Department Professor

Born and raised in Hilo, I grew up hiking in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, fishing in Kaʻū, and stargazing on Mauna Kea. I knew then that the Big Island is one of the most beautiful places on Earth but had never considered earth science to be a pathway, or that I would find myself back here at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo teaching it.

While I could not have possibly imagined it at the time, I’m grateful for the journey I’ve been on, and am excited to continue it here.

After graduating from Waiākea High School, I went east for my undergraduate degree at Harvard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During the first semester there, I took a seminar in which we watched natural disaster movies and examined the accuracy of how they portrayed the science. Enamored by the intersection of physics, math and chemistry with the real-world application that geosciences offered, I declared a major in Earth and Planetary Sciences the very next semester.

As my studies progressed, I found my niche in seismology (the study of ground shaking, such as that caused by earthquakes), and became involved in research work that examined ways to extract new information out of old seismic records. These old records were made on a seismograph with a rotating roll of paper and a pen that would rapidly draw squiggly lines when the ground shook.

I found this old data format even more fascinating as a subject of research than I did as childhood entertainment, when I would jump up and down in front of the seismograph that used to be in the Jaggar Museum. I soon found myself back home as a summer volunteer at the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory working with their enormous collection of thousands of seismograms and trying to unlock more than a century’s worth of seismic data on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

That summer helped me realize the value of volcano monitoring and how the Hawaiian Islands make a perfect natural laboratory for studying the natural world. This was further reinforced in 2018 when I was again back at HVO as a summer volunteer and experienced the community and scientific response to the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea.

These summer opportunities formed the basis of research that would turn into a senior thesis on the small ground movements (volcanic tremors) leading up the 2018 eruption in lower Puna, which in turn launched me into continued study at Harvard as a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences.

During my graduate work, I continued to study historical seismograms and seismic instruments while launching new investigations into how ocean waves and hurricanes cause the ground to shake (microseisms). Through these efforts, I got to visit musty archives and dusty basements across the country, rescuing old data and finding ways to do new science with it.

I also discovered a passion for sharing my science through teaching, mentoring undergraduate researchers, and helping students discover and get excited about studying earth science. After finishing my Ph.D., I became a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton, expanding my studies on seismic signals from the ocean.

When the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo started their search for a new Geology Department faculty member, I jumped at the opportunity to apply. I was thrilled when I received the call that I got the UHH job.

It still feels surreal to be back home after 10 years. Getting up to speed with all the scientific, academic, and community happenings certainly makes for a busy time, but as I start my first semester at UHH, I am excited to have the opportunity to give back.

I can’t wait to mentor and teach students the wonder of our island home and how we try to understand it, to continue collaborations with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, using both old and new data to push forward our understanding of the place we live, and to engage with the local community through outreach.

Editor’s Note: “Volcano Watch” is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates.