astronomy

James Fienup

James Fienup 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 James Fienup rather than just read about it. In short: James Ray Fienup (born April 17, 1948) is an American optical scientist and applied physicist. He is the Robert E.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

James Ray Fienup (born April 17, 1948) is an American optical scientist and applied physicist. He is the Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics at the Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester, where he researches imaging science. Fienup was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Optical Society of America from 1998 to 2003.

Early life and education Fienup was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 17, 1948. After being educated at St. Louis University High School, he attended the College of the Holy Cross, where he graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), magna cum laude, in physics and mathematics. Fienup then pursued graduate studies at Stanford University as a fellow for the National Science Foundation. In 1972, Fienup obtained a Master of Science (M.S.) from Stanford in applied physics and then earned his Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford in 1975. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Improved synthesis and computational methods for computer-generated holograms". His doctoral advisor was the physicist Joseph W. Goodman.

Career After serving as a research assistant at the Stanford Electronics Laboratories, Fienup became a senior scientist at the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan in July 1975. He remained there until June 2002, when he assumed a position at the University of Rochester as its Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics. Fienup is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of Optica. He received the Emmett N. Leith Medal in 2013, "for the integration of optics and digital systems as demonstrated in pioneering contributions to phase retrieval, image restoration, wavefront sensing and computational imaging." He is also a member of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

References

External links List of publications at the Fienup Research Group of the University of Rochester

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Fienup

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Fienup 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 James Fienup 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 James Fienup 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 James Fienup

In research: James Fienup 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 James Fienup 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: James Fienup is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1948 births, Activists from St. Louis, American opticians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Fienup 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 James Fienup in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is James Fienup in simple terms?

James Ray Fienup (born April 17, 1948) is an American optical scientist and applied physicist. He is the Robert E.

Why does James Fienup 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 James Fienup?

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 James Fienup.