astronomy

Greg Hampikian

Greg Hampikian 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 Greg Hampikian rather than just read about it. In short: Greg Hampikian is an American biologist and the founder and director of the Idaho Innocence Project. He is considered one of the foremost forensic DNA experts in the United States.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Greg Hampikian is an American biologist and the founder and director of the Idaho Innocence Project. He is considered one of the foremost forensic DNA experts in the United States. Hampikian assisted in the establishment of various forensic evidence projects such as the Georgia Innocence Project, the Irish Innocence Project, and the Innocence Project France. He is currently a professor in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Criminal Justice at Boise State University. Hampikian is a DNA Expert on the Georgia Innocence Project Board. Hampikian is a New York Times contributing columnist whose two most popular contributions to date have been "Men, Who Needs Them" and "When May I Shoot a Student". Hampikian has published in numerous scholarly scientific journals, including Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Hampikian was inducted as a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. His inventions range from a magnetic shaped memory alloy micro-pump to a forensic DNA labeling kit that prevents contamination of samples given to the police. Hampikian pioneered the study of DNA and protein sequences absent from nature and coined the term Nullomers. Hampikian lectures on DNA science generally as well as DNA in forensic evidence specifically nationwide. Hampikian is noted for his work on several exonerations both nationally and internationally including his work on the Amanda Knox case.

Life and work Hampikian received a master's degree and a PhD from the University of Connecticut in 1986 and 1990, respectively. He has worked with many attorneys on cases which involved DNA forensics investigation. He established the Idaho Innocence Project which analyzes wrongful conviction claims and assists those who have been falsely charged. Hampikian is a contributor to scientific journals, newspapers and magazines; including a farcical look at the issue of allowing concealed weapons on college campuses. He has been featured on television numerous times in news networks such as CNN and BBC. He is also the co-author of the "Exit to Freedom" which documents the life of Calvin C. Johnson Jr., who was wrongfully convicted and spent seventeen years in prison. Hampikian is also an amateur folk singer and songwriter.

Amanda Knox During the high-profile case of Amanda Knox, on May 23, 2011, Hampikian announced that, based on its independent investigation and review, DNA samples taken at the crime scene all pointed to African drifter Rudy Guede and excluded Knox and Sollecito. Upon reexamination of the DNA, he concluded that the evidence is unreliable and contaminated. Hampikian's work contributed to Knox and Sollecito's convictions being overturned.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Greg Hampikian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Greg Hampikian 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 Greg Hampikian 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 Greg Hampikian 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 Greg Hampikian

In research: Greg Hampikian 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 Greg Hampikian 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: Greg Hampikian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American forensic scientists, American people of Armenian descent, Armenian biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Greg Hampikian 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 Greg Hampikian in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Greg Hampikian in simple terms?

Greg Hampikian is an American biologist and the founder and director of the Idaho Innocence Project. He is considered one of the foremost forensic DNA experts in the United States.

Why does Greg Hampikian 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 Greg Hampikian?

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 Greg Hampikian.