[1] Tilling worked for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and became an emeritus in 2004.
His service with the U.S. Geological Survey included four years at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, with a stint as head scientist.
After his tenure there, he left to work for the USGS out of Reston, Virginia.
[7] In 1996, he won the Distinguished Public Service Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America.
[8][9] Tilling was also formerly a consultant to the Indonesian government on volcanic hazards.