About Rick

I am a geoscientist with interests in geophysics, seismological imaging and source studies, and Earth processes encompassing earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciers, oceans, and geology. My research has drawn from significant seismological field studies in western North America, Italy, and Antarctica. I have strong teaching and research interests in geophysical inverse and signal processing methods and am the lead author on the widely used reference volume and textbook "Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems" (Aster, Borchers, and Thurber, 2011; 2018).

Website Google Scholar Profile CV

Interests

  • Earthquake and Volcano Seismology, Seismic Imaging, Inverse Problems, Signal Processing, Cryospheric and Fluvial seismology, Antarctic Geophysics, Seismological Instrumentation.

Education

Ph.D. , Earth Science - University of California
San Diego, CA, 1991

M.S., Geophysics - University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI, 1986

B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Additional Major in Physics - University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI, 1983

Awards, Honors, Grants

  • Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2021
  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2021
  • Fellow, Geological Society of America, 2018
  • Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Wisconsin, 2017
  • IRIS Leadership Award, 2014
  • New Mexico Tech Distinguished Research Award, 2010
  • President, Seismological Society of America, 2009-2011
  • IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lecturer, 2009-2010
  • New Mexico Tech Faculty Award, 2005
  • NSF Antarctic Service Medal, 1999

Selected Publications

Spatiotemporal evolution of the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma, aftershock sequence revealed using subspace detection and relocation

  • McMahon, N., Aster, R., Yeck, W.McNamara, D., & Benz, H.,

Tsunami and infragravity waves impacting Antarctic ice shelves

  • Bromirski, P., Chen, Z., Stephen, R., Gerstoft, P., Arcas, D., Diez, A.,... Nyblade, A.,

Observed rapid bedrock uplift in Amundsen Sea Embayment promotes ice-sheet stability

  • Barletta, V. R., Bevis, M., Smith, B. E., Wilson, T., Brown, A., Bordoni, A., Willis, M., Khan, S. A., Rovira-Navarro, M., Dalziel, I., Smalley, R., Kendrick, E., Konfal, S., Caccamise, D. J., Aster, R. C., Nyblade, A., and Wiens, D. A.,

Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems

  • Aster, R., Borchers, B., Thurber, C,

Glacial Seismology

  • Aster, R., & Winberry, J.,

Selected Articles

Glacial Seismology

Reports On Progress in Physics, v. 80, 2017

Aster, R.C., Winberry, J.P.

Memberships

  • International Glaciological Society
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • American Geophysical Union
  • Geological Society of America
  • Seismological Society of America

Web Links

California’s other drought: A major earthquake is overdue (in The Conversation, January 2018)

CSU Source Article on Science West Antarctica GIA Study

The "singing" Ross Ice Shelf, as reported by NPR (2018)

Publications on Google Scholar

Comprehensive List of Abstracts

Comprehensive List of Publications

Graduate Advisees

Ross Ice Shelf High Frequency Seismic Studies in EOS (2019)

Mackenzie Mountains Mystery: New EarthScope Project Peers Underneath an Unlikely Mountain Range (2016)

Active Magmatic System Discovered Beneath West Antarctic Ice Sheet (2013)

NPR Interview with Scott Simon on the L'Aquila "Earthquake Trial" (2011)

Mount Erebus in Science News (2013)

Oklahoma shakes lead CSU Researchers into Earthquake Forecasting (2016)

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is in trouble – but the ground beneath it may buy some time (in The Conversation, June, 2018)