Meghan Miller Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences Contact Information E-mail: msmiller@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-6308 Office: ZHS 103 LINKS Curriculum Vitae Faculty Profile on Departmental Website

Postdoctoral Training

• NSERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of British Columbia and Rice University, 2006-2008  

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

Tenure Track Appointments

• Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, 2009-  

Non-Tenure Track Appointments

• Research Associate, University of Calgary, 11/2008-04/2009  

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests

Research Keywords

Funded Research

Contracts and Grants Awarded

• Transitions in the Banda Arc-Australia continental collision as a bridge to understanding mantle and (National Science Foundation), Meghan S. Miller, Thorsten W. Becker and A. Joshua West, $719,000, 07/2013-06/2016  
• CAREER: Slab structure and dynamics of arcuate shaped subduction zones (National Science Foundation), Meghan S. Miller, $522,530, 10/2011-09/2015  
• Steps in lithospheric thickness: Investigating strain localization at major strike slip faults in so (Southern California Earthquake Center), Meghan S. Miller, Thosten W. Becker and James Dolan, $30,000, 2012-2013   
• DAAD Research Visit Grant (German Academic Exchange Service), Meghan S. Miller, $2,000, 2012-2013   
• PICASSO: Program to Investigate Convective Alboran Sea System Overturn (National Science Foundation), John Platt, Thorsten W. Becker, Meghan S. Miller, $142,000, 07/2010-07/2013  
• Investigating strain localization and Moho offsets across major strike slip faults in southern Calif (Southern California Earthquake Center), Meghan S. Miller, $25,000, 03/2011-12/2011  
• USArray Data Processing Short Course for the Next Generation of Seismologist (National Science Foundation), Meghan S. Miller, Gary Pavlis and Suzan van der Lee, $49,992, 2010-2011   
• Examining the Evolution of the Colorado Plateau and Its Relation to the Surrounding Tectonic Provinc (National Science Foundation), Meghan S. Miller, Alan Levander, $160,094, 07/2009-06/2011  
• Systematic mapping of the Moho beneath southern California (Southern California Earthquake Center), Meghan S. Miller, $25,000, 02/2010-02/2011  

USC Funding

• Women in Science and Engineering. Imaging the Mediterranean from broadband seismic data: The overarching theme of this research is to study the tectonophysics of the Mediterranean region using broadband seismic data available in Europe. , $21,000, 2012-2013   

Proposals Submitted

• National Science Foundation, submitted, Meghan S. Miller, $175,000, 2012-2013   

Publications

Book Chapter

• Miller, M. S., Powell, K. (2001). Seismic Interpretation and Processing Applications. Computational Neural Networks for Geophysical Data pp. 101-118. Pergamon.

Journal Article

• Faccenna, C., Becker, T. W., Miller, M. S., Serpelloni, E. (2013). Mantle dynamics control the elevation of the Apennines. Nature Geoscience.
• Miller, M. S., Allam, A. A., Becker, T. W., Di Leo, J. F., Wookey, J. (2013). Constrains on geodynamic evolution of the westernmost Mediterranean and northwest Africa from shear wave splitting analysis. Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
• Miller, M. S., Niu, F., Vanacore, E. (2013). Aspherical structural heterogeneity within the uppermost inner core: insights into the hemispherical boundaries and core formation. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. pp. 10.1016/j.pepi.2013.02.001.
• Sun, D., Miller, M. S. (2013). Study of the western edge of African large low shear velocity province. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.
• Alpert, L. A., Miller, M. S., Becker, T. W., Allam, A. A. (2013). Structure beneath the Alboran from geodynamic flow models and seismic anisotropy. Journal of Geophysical Research.
• Becker, T. W., Faccenna, C., Humphreys, E. D., Lowry, A., Miller, M. S. (2013). Static and dynamic support of western U.S. topography. Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
• Miller, M. S., Becker, T. W. (2012). Mantle flow deflected by interactions between subducted slabs and cratonic keels. Nature Geoscience. Vol. 5 (10), pp. 726-730.
• Miller, M. S., Piana Agostinetti, N. (2012). Insights into evolution the lithospheric structure of Italy from S receiver functions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Vol. 345, pp. 49-59.
• Levander, A., Miller, M. S. (2012). Evolutionary aspects of lithosphere discontinuity structure in the western U.S. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. Vol. 13 (Q0AK07), pp. 22.
• Kim, Y., Miller, M. S., Pearce, F., Clayton, R. W. (2012). Seismic imaging of the Cocos plate subduction zone system in central Mexico. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. Vol. 13 (7), pp. 16.
• Reid, M. R., Bouchet, R. A., Blichert-Toft, J., Levander, A., Liu, K., Miller, M. S., Ramos, F. C. (2012). Melting under the Colorado Plateau, USA. Geology. Vol. 40 (doi:10.1130/G32619.1), pp. 387-390.
• Bailey, I. W., Alpert, L. A., Becker, T. W., Miller, M. S. (2012). Co-seismic deformation of deep slabs based on summed CMT data. Journal of Geophysical Research. Vol. 117 (doi:10.1029/2011JB008943), pp. 12.
• Bailey, I. W., Miller, M. S., Liu, K., Levander, A. (2012). VS and density structure beneath the Colorado Plateau constrained by gravity anomalies and joint inversions of receiver function and phase velocity data. Journal of Geophysical Research. Vol. 17, pp. 19.
• Miller, M. S., Piana Agostinetti, N. (2011). Erosion of the continental lithosphere at the cusps of the Calabrian arc: Evidence from S receiver functions analysis. Geophysical Research Letters. Vol. 38 (doi:10.1029/2011GL049455), pp. 6.
• Liu, K., Levander, A., Niu, F., Miller, M. S. (2011). Imaging crustal and upper mantle structure beneath the Colorado Plateau using finite-frequency Rayleigh wave tomography. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. Vol. 12 (7), pp. doi:10.1029/2011GC003611.
• Levander, A., Schmandt, B., Miller, M. S., Liu, K., Karlstom, K. E., Crow, R. S., Humphreys, E. D. (2011). Continuing Colorado plateau uplift by delamination-style convective lithospheric downwelling. Nature. Vol. 472 (7344), pp. 461-465.
• Mason, W. G., Moresi, L., Betts, P. G., Miller, M. S. (2010). Three-dimensional numerical models of the influence of a buoyant oceanic plateau on subduction zones. Tectonophysics. Vol. 483, pp. 71-79.
• Miller, M. S., Eaton, D. W. (2010). Formation of cratonic mantle keels by arc accretion: evidence from an S-receiver functions. Geophysical Research Letters. Vol. 37 (L18305), pp. doi:10.1029/2010GL044366.
• Miller, M. S., Levander, A. (2009). Receiver function images of the Western U.S. lithosphere. EarthScope OnSite Newsletter. Vol. 4, pp. 2-3.
• Miller, M. S., Levander, A., Niu, F., Li, A. (2009). Upper mantle structure beneath the Caribbean – South American plate boundary from surface wave tomography. Journal of Geophysical Research. Vol. 114
• Miller, M. S., Niu, F. (2008). Bulldozing the core-mantle boundary: localized seismic scatterers beneath the Caribbean Sea. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. Vol. 170, pp. 89-94.
• Clark, S., Sobiasiek, M., Niu, F., Zelt, C. A., Magnani, M. B., Miller, M. S., Bezada, M. J., Levander, A. (2008). Identification and tectonic implication of a tear in the South American plate at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems. Vol. 9 (11), pp. Q11004.
• Miller, M. S., Lee, C. T. (2008). Possible chemical modification of oceanic lithosphere by hotspot magmatism: seismic evidence from the junction of Ninety-east Ridge and the Sumatra-Andaman arc. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Vol. 265 (3-4), pp. 386-395.
• Rosenbaum, G., Gasparon, M., Lucente, F. P., Peccerillo, A., Miller, M. S. (2008). Kinematics of slab tear faults during subduction segmentation and implications for Italian magmatism. Tectonics. Vol. 27 (TC2008), pp. doi:10.1029/2007TC002143.
• Miller, M. S. (2008). Breaking the slab. Nature Geoscience. Vol. 1 (11), pp. 730-731.
• Miller, M. S., Gorbatov, A., Kennett, B. L. (2006). Three-dimensional visualization of a near-vertical slab tear beneath the southern Mariana arc. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems. Vol. 7 (Q06012), pp. doi:10.1029/2005GC001110.
• Miller, M. S., Kennett, B. L. (2006). Evolution of mantle structure beneath the northwest Pacific: Evidence from seismic tomography and paleogeographic reconstructions. Tectonics. Vol. 25 (4), pp. doi:10.1029/2005TC001909.
• Miller, M. S., Kennett, B. L., Gorbatov, A. (2006). Morphology of the distorted subducted Pacific slab beneath the Hokkaido corner, Japan. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. Vol. 156 (1-2), pp. 1-11.
• Miller, M. S., Kennett, B. L., Toy, V. G. (2006). Spatial and temporal evolution of the subducting Pacific plate structure along the western Pacific margin. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth. Vol. 111 (B2), pp. doi:10.1029/2005JB003705.
• Miller, M. S., Gorbatov, A., Kennett, B. L. (2005). Heterogeneity within the subducting Pacific slab beneath the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc: Evidence from tomography using 3D ray tracing inversion techniques. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Vol. 235 (1-2), pp. 331-342.
• Miller, M. S. (2005). Active seismicity in the Flinders Ranges. Journal of the Virtual Explorer. Vol. 20, pp. Paper 18.
• Miller, M. S., Kennett, B. L., Lister, G. S. (2004). Imaging changes in morphology, geometry, and physical properties of the subducting Pacific plate along the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Vol. 224 (3-4), pp. 363-370.

Research Report

• Miller, M. S., Levander, A. (2011). Imaging the lithospheric structure in Western U.S. using S receiver functions. IRIS Annual Report.

Honors and Awards

• NIH/NSF Career Development Award, 2011-  
• NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2006-2008  
• ANU Research School of Earth Science PhD Scholarship , 2003-2006  
• Australian International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, 2003-2006  
• Cornell University Geological Science Merit Scholarship , 1999-2000   
• Society of Exploration Geophysicists Graduate Scholarship, 1999-2000   
• Columbia University Henry Krumb School of Mines Fellow, 1997-1999  
• Whittier College John Greenleaf Whittier Merit Scholar, 1993-1997  

Service to the Profession

Committees

• Member, IRIS PASSCAL Standing Committee, 11/2010-  
• Member, NSF - Earthscope Transportable Array Working Group, 01/2009-  
• Chair, NSF - Earthscope Transportable Array Working Group, 02/2010-02/2012  

Editorships and Editorial Boards

• Associate Editor, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 06/2011-  

Media, Alumni, and Community Relations

• NSF Earthscope Series Speaker, 2010-2011