Rate My Professor Meghan Miller

Miller's research specializes in observational seismology to understand the structural and dynamical evolution of the Earth from core to surface. She investigates tectonic plate boundaries, particularly subduction zones where oceanic plates descend into the mantle, and the structure of stable continental interiors as records of long-term plate tectonic processes. Integrating novel seismological techniques, new data acquisition in data-poor regions, geologic data, and geophysical observations, her work addresses key questions in plate tectonics, seismicity, volcanism, and environmental phenomena. Under her ARC Future Fellowship starting in 2022, she advances Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology for high-resolution subsurface imaging, micro-seismicity detection, groundwater monitoring, and storm tracking. As Program Director for AuScope Earth Imaging since 2018 and a chief investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Ocean, Mantle, and Biosphere Systems (COMBS), she leads seismic deployments in Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Morocco, Spain, Timor Leste, and Indonesia, contributing to AusPass for passive seismic data management. She has supervised numerous PhD students, postdocs, and undergraduates. Key publications include "Mantle flow deflected by interactions between subducted slabs and cratonic keels" (Nature Geoscience, 2012), "Reactivated lithospheric-scale discontinuities localize dynamic uplift of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains" (Geology, 2014), "Southwest Australia Seismic Network (SWAN): recording earthquakes in Australia’s most active seismic zone" (Seismological Research Letters, 2023), and "Seismology at light speed: how fibre-optic telecommunications cables deliver a close-up view of NZ's Alpine Fault" (The Conversation, 2023). Her research has over 5,000 citations on Google Scholar.