SOCORRO, N.M., January 10, 2002 -- Richard C. Aster, professor of geophysics and research geophysicist at New Mexico Tech, recently was appointed chairman of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Education & Outreach Standing Committee, one of four standing committees within the IRIS consortium that oversee the organization's core programs.

The IRIS Education & Outreach program is charged with developing and implementing IRIS programs designed to enhance seismology and Earth science education in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and with the general public.

In collaboration with the seismological and educational communities, IRIS Education & Outreach is committed to fostering an appreciation for and understanding of seismology and related studies of the Earth.

Aster, who has been a New Mexico Tech researcher and faculty member since 1991, is also the principal investigator for another of IRIS's core programs -- the Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere (PASSCAL) Instrument Center, a National Science Foundation facility located on the Tech campus that supports seismological research throughout the world with a pool of more than 1,000 portable seismic instruments.

IRIS is a research consortium of about 90 universities and other institutions involved in exploring the Earth's interior through the collection and distribution of seismographic data.