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 Geophysical Union, 2021
  • Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2021
  • Board Chair, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, 2019-2022
  • 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

See Google Scholar Profile (khkdN24AAAAJ)

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Selected Articles

Mount Erebus Volcano: An unparalleled natural laboratory to study alkaline magmatism and open-conduit volcano behavior

Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 0.1144/M55-2019-8, 2021

Sims, K., Aster, R., Gaetani, G., Blichert-Toft, J., Phillips, E., Wallace, P., Mattioli, G., Rasmussen, D., Boyd, E.

Achievements and prospects of global broadband seismographic networks after 30 years of geophysical observations

Reviews of Geophysics, 10.1029/2021RG000749, 2022

Ringler, A., Anthony, R.E., Aster, R.C., Ammon, C.J., Arrowsmith, S., Benz, H., Lau, H.C.P., Lekic, V., Richards, P.G., Valée, M., Yeck, W.

Swell-triggered seismicity within the near-front damage zone of the Ross Ice Shelf

Seism. Res. Lett, 10.1785/0220200478, 2021

Aster, R.C., Lipovsky, B., Cole, H.M., Bromirski, P.D., Gerstoft, P., Stephen, R.A., Nyblade, A., Wiens, D.

Parameter Estimation and Inverse Problems, Third Edition

Elsevier Academic Press, 392 pp., 2018

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

Memberships

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

Web Links

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

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

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

CSU Source Article on Science West Antarctica GIA Study

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

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

Mount Erebus in Science News (2013)

Publications on Google Scholar

Oklahoma shakes lead CSU Researchers into Earthquake Forecasting (2016)

Graduate Advisees

Comprehensive List of Abstracts

Comprehensive List of Publications

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

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