Richard C. Aster is an American

seismologist Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

and is Professor of Geophysics and Department Head of Geosciences at Colorado State University. Aster's research includes seismic imaging, volcano seismology, microseismicity, seismic noise, seismic instrumentation, crustal and mantle seismology,

fluvial seismology Fluvial seismology is the application of seismological methods to understand river processes, such as discharge, erosion, and streambed evolution. Flowing water and the movement of sediments along the streambed generate elastic (seismic) waves ...

and cryoseismology. Dr. Aster served as president of the

Seismological Society of America The Seismological Society of America (SSA) is an international scientific society devoted to the advancement of seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society. Founded in 1906, the society has members throughout the wor ...

from 2009-2010. and as an elected board member of the society from 2008-2014. In 1999 Aster founded the

New Mexico Tech The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech and formerly New Mexico School of Mines) is a public university in Socorro, New Mexico. It offers over 30 bachelor of science degrees in technology, the sciences, engineering, man ...

IRIS PASSCAL Instrument Center, which supports diverse seismological studies around the world under the management of the

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) is a university research consortium dedicated to exploring the Earth's interior through the collection and distribution of seismographic data. IRIS programs contribute to scholarly research, ...

with primary funding from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

and

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...

, and served as the first Principal Investigator of the facility.

Aster Glacier Aster Glacier () is an Antarctic glacier descending the east slope of Craddock Massif and flowing between Elfring Peak and Willis Ridge to Thomas Glacier in the Sentinel Range, Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica. It was named by the Advisory C ...

in the

Ellsworth Mountains The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain ranges in Antarctica, forming a long and wide chain of mountains in a north to south configuration on the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Marie Byrd Land. They are bisected by Minnesota ...

of Antarctica is named for Dr. Aster, who received the NSF Antarctic Services Medal86th Congress Public Law 600 July 7, 1960
/ref> for fieldwork in Antarctica in 1999. Aster was awarded the Distinguished Research Award by New Mexico Tech in 2010 and the university's Faculty Award in 2005. Aster was featured in the 2011-2012 BBC Horizon production ''The Core''. Dr. Aster is a member of the

, the

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 ...

, the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...

, the

International Glaciological Society The International Glaciological Society (IGS) was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in glaciology, practical and scientific aspects of snow and ice. It was originally known as the "Association for the Study of Snow a ...

and other Earth science societies and organizations. Aster, with Brian Borchers of

and Clifford Thurber of the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, is a co-author of an internationally used geophysics/mathematical textbook ''Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems'', which was published by

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', '' Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...

in a third edition in November, 2018. From 2009 to 2010 Aster presented U.S. seminars as part of the IRIS-SSA Distinguished Lecturership program. In 2017 Aster was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Department of Geoscience at the

. In 2018 Aster was elected a Fellow of the

. In 2020, Aster began a three-year term as chair of the

IRIS Consortium IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) is a university research consortium dedicated to exploring the Earth's interior through the collection and distribution of seismographic data. IRIS programs contribute to scholarly research, ...

board of directors. Aster was elected a Fellow of the

in 2021 and a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

in 2022.

Publications

Books

Journal articles

References

External links

PublicationsAbstractsColorado State University Faculty homepageEarth and Environmental Science Department at New Mexico TechIRIS PASSCAL Instrument Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aster, Richard C. American seismologists University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of California, San Diego alumni New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology faculty Colorado State University faculty 1959 births Living people Fellows of the Geological Society of America Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science