Scott Miller has managed research and collections programs in major institutions for over 20 years. At the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, he has served as Chairman of the Department of Entomology and Chairman of the Department of Systematic Biology, with oversight of a combined staff over 300 federal employees with an annual budget of over $20 million.
His previous experience includes 12 years at the Bishop Museum (Hawaii) managing its programs in biology and geology, with heavy involvement in public programs and development. He spent two years in Kenya initiating a biodiversity and conservation program at an international agriculture research institute (the International Centre of Insect Ecology and Physiology).
In addition to managing and fundraising for research, collections, and public outreach, all these positions have included significant infrastructure renovation, management of field stations, and implementation of information management systems.
He also serves on the Committee on Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society, as well as the boards of several scientific societies.
He is committed to applying biodiversity information from museums and similar research institutions to sustainable development, has participated in major reviews of biodiversity related to conservation planning, and catalyzed an Integrated Conservation Development Project in Kenya.
Miller is very interested in the "big picture" of tropical biology, and the role of biodiversity information in understanding and managing the related issues of tropical deforestation, climate change, invasive species, loss of biological diversity, and the resultant biological, economic, and political consequences. He has also been heavily involved in education, including initiating an NSF-funded minority high school intern program at Bishop Museum, training programs for international professionals, parataxonomist programs in developing countries, and mentoring graduate students.
Miller has had continuous NSF funding since 1986, and maintains an active and personal research program. He has published over 145 research publications in systematics, biogeography, and ecology, and co-edited the books Papua New Guinea Biological Diversity Country Study; The origin and evolution of Pacific island biotas, New Guinea to Eastern Polynesia: Patterns and processes; and Arthropods of tropical forests: Spatio-temporal dynamics and resource use in the canopy.
Scott Miller is also Senior Program Officer in the Office of the Under Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian Institution.