Robert Ladislav Parker

Robert L. Parker is an American geophysicist and mathematician, currently holding a Professor Emeritus of Geophysics position at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California.

Robert Ladislav Parker
Born	(1942-02-24)24 February 1942
Education	University of Cambridge, UK
Known for	Geophysical Inverse Theory
Spouse	Florence Monica Dirac [1]
Awards	John Adam Fleming Medal[2] Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society[3] Fellow, Royal Society of London[4]
Scientific career
Fields	Geophysicist and Mathematician
Institutions	Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Thesis	Geophysical Studies in Electromagnetic Induction [5]  (1966)
Doctoral advisor	Edward Bullard

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^[6] in Geophysics at Downing College, Cambridge in England,^[7] 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 and George Backus regarding inverse theory and is a world-renowned expert on the general subject of inverse theory, having written one of the authoritative books ^[2] on the subject: Geophysical Inverse Theory .^[8] He is a former director of IGPP.

Personal life

Parker is an avid bicyclist and keeps track of all of his miles.^[9] He has also written about the energy behind bicycle physics.^[10]

Awards

• John Adam Fleming Medal, American Geophysical Union (2008)
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1998)
• Fellow, Royal Society of London (1989)
• Fellow, American Geophysical Union (1976)
• James B. Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union (1976)
• Guggenheim Fellowship (1975)
• Sloan Fellowship (1969–1971)
• Downing College Bye Fellowship (1965–1966)
• Downing College, Major Open Scholarship (1960–1963)
• State Scholarship Grant (1960–1963