Ken Hon has been named the next Scientist-in-Charge for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO).
Hon worked with the USGS in the past for a 15-year period beginning in 1981 and was also a volcanologist at HVO for four years. He will replace former SIC Tina Neal who left to go work for the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
“I am honored and thrilled to be rejoining the USGS and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory,” Hon said in a USGS release.
HVO aims to reduce the impacts of volcanic eruptions in Hawaii by monitoring the six active volcanoes in the state. The agency focuses on the assessing their hazards, issuing warnings and advancing scientific understanding. Among the six volcanoes are Kīlauea, which is the youngest and most active volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i.
“The next few years will be pivotal for HVO as we work to understand how Kīlauea responds in the aftermath of the 2018 eruption and to build new observatory facilities to continue to serve the community in the future,” Hon said.
Hon has been particularly involved with Kīlauea as he helped create educational films on its eruptive activity and served on Gov. David Ige’s panel that oversaw the safe shutdown of the Puna Geothermal Ventures power plant during the volcano’s lower East Rift Zone eruption in 2018.
“We are so excited to welcome Ken and the tremendous knowledge, experience and leadership he brings to the HVO ohana as we fulfill and evolve our mission and critical role within the community,” HVO Deputy SIC David Phillips said.
Hon will be the 21st director for HVO.
Hon most recently served as a geology professor for the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo for 23 years. He retired from the position last year.
