Robert Ladislav Parker
{{short description|American geophysicist and mathematician}}
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| name = Robert Ladislav Parker
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| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1942|02|24}}
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| fields = Geophysicist and Mathematician
| workplaces = Scripps Institution of Oceanography
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| education = University of Cambridge, UK
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| thesis_title = Geophysical Studies in Electromagnetic Induction {{cite web |last1=|first1=|title=Parker Thesis|url=https://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=44CAM_ALMA21428214010003606&context=L&vid=44CAM_PROD&lang=en_US&search_scope=SCOP_UL&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=cam_lib_coll&query=any,contains,parker%20geophysics&offset=0 |website=University of Cambridge Library catalog |publisher= |date= |access-date=20 January 2024 }}
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| thesis_year = 1966
| doctoral_advisor = Edward Bullard
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| known_for = Geophysical Inverse Theory
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John Adam Fleming Medal{{cite web |last1=|first1=|title=Robert L. Parker Honors Program|url=https://honors.agu.org/winners/robert-l-parker-2/ |website=AGU |publisher= |date= |access-date=20 January 2024 }}
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society{{cite web |last1=Williams|first1=D.|title=Prof. Robert L. Parker FRS: Gold Medal|journal=Astronomy & Geophysics|url=https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/39/4/4.7/189075 |date= 1998|volume=39|issue=4|pages=4.7|doi=10.1093/astrog/39.4.4.7|access-date=20 January 2024 }}
Fellow, Royal Society of London{{cite web |last1=|first1=|title=Royal Society Parker Biography|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/robert-parker-12041/ |website=Royal Society |publisher= |date= |access-date=20 January 2024 }}
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| spouse = Florence Monica Dirac {{cite journal |last1=|first1=|title=Paul Adrian Maurice Dirac|url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbm.1986.0006#page=16 |website=Royal Society |publisher= |date= |doi=10.1098/rsbm.1986.0006|access-date=20 January 2024 }}
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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.
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{{MathGenealogy|id=11298}} in Geophysics at Downing College, Cambridge in England,{{cite web|title=CV|url=http://igppweb.ucsd.edu/~parker}} 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 on the subject: Geophysical Inverse Theory .{{Cite book|title=Geophysical Inverse Theory |last=Parker|first=Robert L.|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1994|isbn=9780691036342}} He is a former director of IGPP.
Personal life
Parker is an avid bicyclist and keeps track of all of his miles.{{cite web|title=Bicycle Logs|url=http://igppweb.ucsd.edu/~parker/log.pdf}} He has also written about the energy behind bicycle physics.{{cite web|title=Bicycle Physics|url=http://igppweb.ucsd.edu/~parker/bikescience.pdf}}
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
References
{{Reflist}}
{{FRS 1989}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Robert Ladislav}}
Category:Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge
Category:American geophysicists
Category:University of California, San Diego faculty
Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
Category:Fellows of the American Geophysical Union