engineering

James Thorp

James Thorp is a engineering 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 Thorp rather than just read about it. In short: James S. Thorp (February 7, 1937 – May 2, 2018) was the head of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

James S. Thorp (February 7, 1937 – May 2, 2018) was the head of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. He was the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professor Emeritus & Research Professor. He received all of his degrees (B.S. 1959, M.S. 1961, and Ph.D. 1962) from Cornell University. Professor Thorp was a teacher, a researcher, and for many years served as the director, in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell, where he worked from 1962 to 2004. Along with fellow Virginia Tech professor Arun G. Phadke, Thorp received The Franklin Institute's 2008 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering for their contributions to the power industry, particularly microprocessor controllers in electric power systems that have significantly decreased the occurrence and duration of power blackouts. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1996 for his "contributions to the development of digital techniques for power system protection, monitoring, and control" and also was an IEEE Fellow (since 1989).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Thorp

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Thorp claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, 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 Thorp 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 Thorp 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 Thorp

In research: James Thorp appears in engineering 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 Thorp 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 Thorp is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1937 births, 2018 deaths, American electrical engineer stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Thorp 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 Thorp in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is James Thorp in simple terms?

James S. Thorp (February 7, 1937 – May 2, 2018) was the head of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Why does James Thorp matter?

Because it connects several engineering 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 Thorp?

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 Thorp.