Robert L. Parker is an American geophysicist and mathematician, currently holding a Professor Emeritus of Geophysics position at the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and Earth science research, public servi ...

at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is ...

in La Jolla, California.

The Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics in La Jolla

After completing a B.A. in Natural Sciences in 1963, M.A. in 1964, and Ph.D. in 1966 in Geophysics at

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the old ...

in England, Parker moved to the U.S. to work at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP). He has subsequently built on work by

Freeman Gilbert James Freeman Gilbert (August 9, 1931 – August 15, 2014) was an American geophysicist, best known for his work with George E. Backus on inverting geophysical data, and also for his role in establishing an international network of long-period s ...

and

George Backus George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

regarding

inverse theory An inverse problem in science is the process of calculating from a set of observations the causal factors that produced them: for example, calculating an image in X-ray computed tomography, source reconstruction in acoustics, or calculating the ...

. He is a former director of IGPP.

Personal life

Parker is an avid bicyclist and keeps track of all of his miles. He has also written about the energy behind bicycle physics.

Awards

John Adam Fleming Medal John Adam Fleming, (January 28, 1877 – July 29, 1956) was an American geophysicist interested in the magnetosphere and the atmospheric electricity. Fleming worked first at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey with his superior Louis Agricola Ba ...

, American Geophysical Union (2008) *

Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society The Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society is the highest award given by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The RAS Council have "complete freedom as to the grounds on which it is awarded" and it can be awarded for any reason. Past awar ...

(1998) *Fellow, Royal Society of London (1989) *Fellow,

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's ...

(1976) * James B. Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union (1976) *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

(1975) *Sloan Fellowship (1969–1971) *Downing College Bye Fellowship (1965–1966) *Downing College, Major Open Scholarship (1960–1963) *State Scholarship Grant (1960–1963

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Robert Ladislav Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge American geophysicists University of California, San Diego faculty Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Fellows of the Royal Society