astronomy

Rick Allmendinger

Rick Allmendinger is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rick Allmendinger rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Waldron Allmendinger is a structural geologist and Professor Emeritus of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University. His work is focused on energy and climate change as well as earthquakes and the regional tectonics of South America.

Key takeaways

Rick Allmendinger belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rick Allmendinger to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rick Allmendinger from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Richard Waldron Allmendinger is a structural geologist and Professor Emeritus of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University. His work is focused on energy and climate change as well as earthquakes and the regional tectonics of South America. Some of his biggest contributions to the field of Structural geology are the creation of the stereonet mobile and GeolMapDataExtractor GMDE mobile apps, as well as many other apps and programs.

Academic career Richard Waldron Allmendinger obtained a BA. in the geological sciences from Cornell University in 1975 where he received distinction in all subjects. He also received a PhD. with a concentration in structural geology from Stanford University in 1979. Allmendinger began his career working as a geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey beginning in 1976 through 1985. Also during this time, he worked as a Research Associate (III) at Cornell University from 1980 through 1984. After this, Allmendinger obtained a position starting as an assistant professor at Cornell University that he has kept at through present day where he is currently an Emeritus professor. He also served as the Associate Dean for the College of Engineering at Cornell from 2008 through 2011. Beginning in 2002, he became a Visiting Professor at the Universidad Católica del Norte in Antofagasta, Chile. Allmendinger has been recognized for his work in structural geology by being inducted as a fellow into the Geological Society of America

Honors and awards In 2021, Allmendinger was awarded the Paul G. Silver Award for Outstanding Scientific Service in large part due to the multitude of free geology software and instruction he has provided to hundreds of thousands of geologists and students, as well as his teaching and research contributions to the field of geology. Allmendinger is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and in 2012 was awarded the Career Contribution Award from the Geological Society of America for his numerous distinguished contributions that have advanced the science of structural geology and tectonics. During his time serving as the Associate Dean for Diversity and Faculty Development, the Diversity Programs in Engineering (DPE), which he oversaw, was awarded the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) in a ceremony at the White House in December 2011. Allmendinger is also a Miembro Correspondiente” (Honorary Foreign Fellow) of the Asociación Geológica Argentina.

Research Allmendinger’s general research interests include structural geology and tectonics, earthquake geology, structural geodesy, numerical kinematic modeling, interpretation of seismic reflection profiles, regional tectonics of South America, and field geology. Allmendinger’s main research aims to answer questions such as: what is the composition and structure of the convergent plate boundary in South America? And how does that structure elucidate the geologic expression? In order to answer these questions, Allmedinger uses methods such as seismic interpretation, GPS and satellite imagery, field work and computer modeling. Aside from his research, Richard is renowned and recognized for his technological contributions to the field of geology due to his widely-used apps and programs. Allmendinger’s approach to advancing research via technological progression can best be understood by a quote from his own research: “Future technological advances should overcome many of today's uncertainties and provide rich new data to mine by providing denser, more uniform, and temporally continuous observations.”

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rick Allmendinger

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rick Allmendinger claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rick Allmendinger before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rick Allmendinger ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rick Allmendinger

In research: Rick Allmendinger appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rick Allmendinger in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rick Allmendinger is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American geologists, Cornell University faculty, Fellows of the Geological Society of America, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rick Allmendinger outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rick Allmendinger in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rick Allmendinger means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rick Allmendinger out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rick Allmendinger in simple terms?

Why does Rick Allmendinger matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rick Allmendinger?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rick Allmendinger.