Robert L. Parker is an American geophysicist and mathematician currently holding a Professor Emeritus of Geophysics position at the Scripps Institute 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 in Geophysics at Downing College, Cambridge in England, Parker moved to the U.S. to work at IGPP. He has subsequently built on work by Freeman Gilbert and George Backus regarding Inverse Theory. He is a former director of IGPP.

Personal Life

Parker is an avid bicyclist and keeps track of all of his miles. He has also written about the energy behind bicycle physics Parker owns New Hampshire home in Landaff, NH.

Awards

• Fleming Medal, American Geophysical Union (2008)
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
  Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
  -History:In the early years, more than one medal was often awarded in a year, but by 1833 only one medal was being awarded per year. This caused a problem when Neptune was discovered in 1846, because many felt an award should jointly be made to John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier...
  
   (1998)
• Fellow, Royal Society of London (1989)
• Fellow, American Geophysical Union
  American Geophysical Union
  The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
  
   (1976)
• James B. Macelwane Award of the American
• Geophysical Union (1976)
• Guggenheim Fellowship
  Guggenheim Fellowship
  Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
  
  (1975)
• Sloan Fellowship (1969–1971)
• Downing College Bye Fellowship (1965–1966)
• Downing College, Major Open Scholarship (1960–1963)
• State Scholarship Grant (1960–1963