Donald A. Swanson

Donald Alan Swanson (born July 25, 1938; also known as Don Swanson) is an American geologist. During his career with the U.S. Geological Survey, he served at different times as the scientist-in-charge of the Cascades Volcano Observatory and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and has been noted for his contributions to understanding the volcanology of the Columbia River Basalts, Kīlauea, and the Cascade Arc.

Swanson was born on July 25, 1938. He attended Washington State University in Pullman, Washington – from which he graduated with a geology degree in 1960 – before receiving a Ph.D. in geology from Johns Hopkins University in 1964. He completed postdoctoral studies with NATO in Germany, where he studied Vulcano, Italy, and Gran Canaria, Spain. In 1965, he joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of their team mapping Oregon. For the next nine years, Swanson focused his studies on the Columbia River Basalts and also established monitoring at Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens of the Cascade Range. He was stationed at an observatory in Vancouver, Washington, when Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. Swanson was made lead geologist from 1980 to 1986 and scientist-in-charge from 1986 until 1990. when he returned to working as a research scientist.

In 2016, Swanson received the Shoemaker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Communications from the USGS.

Swanson funded the Swanson Graduate Student Endowed Support Fund at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2017, which provides fellowships for graduate students in geology or geophysics at the university. He retired to emeritus status in 2019. As of 2021, he was living in Hilo, Hawaii. Also in 2024, he appeared on the YouTube channel of geologist Nick Zentner.