astronomy

G. K. Podila

G. K. Podila 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 G. K. Podila rather than just read about it. In short: Gopi K. Podila (September 14, 1957 – February 12, 2010) was an Indian American biologist who served as a professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Gopi K. Podila (September 14, 1957 – February 12, 2010) was an Indian American biologist who served as a professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He was one of three faculty members killed in a mass shooting at the university on February 12, 2010. Podila was chairperson of the university's department of biological sciences, with a particular interest in the ecology of Populus and their mycorrhizal symbionts.

Research career He listed his research interests as "engineering tree biomass for bioenergy, functional genomics of plant-microbe interactions, plant molecular biology and biotechnology".

In particular, Podila studied genes that regulate growth in fast growing trees, especially poplar and aspen. He advocated prospective use of fast growing trees and grasses as an alternative to corn sources for producing ethanol. He was also the coordinator of an international consortium of institutions that has deciphered the genome of mycorrhizal fungus, a fungus whose symbiotic properties allow trees to generate large amounts of biomass. G. K. Podila received a B.Sc. degree from Nagarjuna University in India. He obtained a master's degree from Louisiana State University in 1983 and a PhD in molecular biology from Indiana State University in 1987. Prior to joining the University of Alabama in Huntsville, he worked at Michigan Technological University from 1990 to 2002. Podila was an Editorial Board member of the journals Symbiosis, New Phytologist, Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, and Journal of Plant Interactions. At the time of his death Podila was a Councilor of the International Symbiosis Society. He is survived by his widow, Vani Podila, and two daughters.

UAH shooting

On February 12, 2010, Amy Bishop, a faculty member in Podila's department, drew a handgun during a staff meeting and shot six people. Podila and two other faculty members were killed. Bishop was taken into custody outside the building and charged with capital murder. Bishop was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Works Ajit Varma; Gopi K. Podila, eds. (2006). Biotechnological applications of microbes. Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Anshan. ISBN 1-904798-61-6. LCCN 2006411669. Gopi K. Podila; David D. Douds, Jr., eds. (2000). Current advances in mycorrhizae research. St. Paul, Minn.: American Phytopathological Society. pp. ix, 193. ISBN 0-89054-245-7. LCCN 99068446. Leland J. Cseke; Peter B. Kaufman; Gopi K. Podila; Chung-Jui Tsai, eds. (2002). Handbook of molecular and cellular methods in biology and medicine. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-8493-0815-1.

References

External links

G. K. Podila at the Wayback Machine (archived May 28, 2010) (Archive) UAH. G. K. Podila profile at ScientificCommons.org

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with G. K. Podila

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what G. K. Podila 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 G. K. Podila 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 G. K. Podila 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 G. K. Podila

In research: G. K. Podila 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 G. K. Podila 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: G. K. Podila is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1957 births, 2010 deaths, 20th-century Indian biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for G. K. Podila 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “G. K. Podila” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study G. K. Podila in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what G. K. Podila 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 G. K. Podila out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is G. K. Podila in simple terms?

Gopi K. Podila (September 14, 1957 – February 12, 2010) was an Indian American biologist who served as a professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Why does G. K. Podila 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 G. K. Podila?

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 G. K. Podila.