astronomy

John E. Dowling

John E. Dowling 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 John E. Dowling rather than just read about it. In short: John E. Dowling is an American neuroscientist and Gordon and Llura Gund Research Professor of Neurosciences Emeritus at Harvard University.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

John E. Dowling is an American neuroscientist and Gordon and Llura Gund Research Professor of Neurosciences Emeritus at Harvard University. He is best known for his work in vision science, including studies on the structure, electrophysiology and pharmacology of the vertebrate retina, as well as on retinal degenerations caused by vitamin A deficiency and gene mutations. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1972, the National Academy of Sciences in 1976, and the American Philosophical Society in 1992.

Education Dowling earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University under the direction of George Wald. He also received a bachelor's degree at Harvard and attended Harvard Medical School.

Career In 1961, Dowling became an instructor of the Department of Biology at Harvard University. From 1961 to 1964 he was assistant professor of biology at Harvard. Upon completion, he was assistant professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University from 1964 to 1966 and associate professor of ophthalmology and biophysics from 1966 to 1971. From 1961 to 1971 and 1991 he was a lecturer of the Lancaster Course in Ophthalmology, co-director of a neurobiology course, Marine Biological Laboratory (1970-1974 and 1998), professor of biology at Harvard University (1971-1987), chairman of the Department of Biology at Harvard University (1975-1978), overseas fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, England (1978-1979), acting master of North House, Harvard University (1979-1980), associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University (1980-1984), master of Leverett House, Harvard University (1981-1998). Dowling has served as an associate editor for Cellular Neurobiology, Journal of Neuroscience (1989–1994), Council of Society of Neuroscience Member (1980-1984), governing board of National Research Council member (1985-1988 and 1994-1997), Commission on Life Sciences National Research Council chairman (1985-1988), scientific advisory board member of the Whitney Marine Laboratory (1986-1991), executive committee member of the Marine Biology Laboratory (1974-1976 and 1988-1990), council member of the National Eye Institute (1986-1990), medical advisory board member of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1989-1992), Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology trustee (1991-1998), FASEB Summer Conference on Biology, Chemistry and Modeling Vision chairman, (1992), Council of Faculty of Arts and Sciences member, Harvard University (1993-1995), National Academy of Sciences member (1993-1996), and president of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (1996-1997). Dowling was a trustee of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (1986-2024), a member on the scientific advisory board of the Foundation for Fighting Blindness (1971–1985), member of the scientific advisory board of Research to Prevent Blindness (1991–2010), member of the scientific advisory board of the Knights Templar Research Foundation (1991–1995), member of the scientific advisory board of the McLean Hospital, member of the educational advisory board of the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1991–1995), member of the scientific advisory board of the Center for Neural Science, New York University, member of the board of directors of the Harvard University Press (1997–2017), and president of the Corporation of Marine Biological Laboratory (1998–2008).

Awards Dowling was awarded the Friedenwald Medal by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in 1970. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1976. In 1978, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. Dowling received an honorary MD from Lund University in 1982. Subsequently, he was awarded an Alcon Research Institute Award in 1986; the American Academy of Optometry Prentice Medal in 1991; and the ARVO Von Sallman Prize in 1992. He was the New England Ophthalmological Society's Taylor Smith Orator in 1993.

Bibliography

Books Dowling, J. E. "The Retina: An Approachable Part of the Brain, "Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1987); revised edition (2012). Dowling, J.E. "Neurons and Networks: An Introduction to Neuroscience," Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1992); 2nd edition (2001). Dowling, J.E. "Creating Mind: How the Brain Works, "W. W. Norton & Co., New York, NY (1998). Dowling, J.E. “The Great Brain Debate: Nature or Nurture?”, Joseph Henry Press, National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C. (2004); paperback edition, Princeton University Press Princeton N.J. (2007). Dowling, J.E. and Dowling, J.L. “Vision: How it Works and What Can Go Wrong”. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2016). Dowling, J.E. "Understanding the Brain: From Cells to Behavior to Cognition", W. W. Norton & Co., New York. NY (2018).

Edited volumes Shipley, T. and Dowling, J.E. (eds.), "Visual Processes in Vertebrates, "Vision Research Supplement, Volume 11, Pergamon Press, Oxford (1971) Landers, M.B., Wolbarsht, J. L., Dowling, J.E. and Laties, A.M. (eds.) "Retinitis Pigmentosa: Clinical Implications of Current Research, "Plenum Press, New York (1977) Poppel, E., Held, R., and Dowling, J.E. (eds.) "Neuronal Mechanisms in Visual Perceptions," Neuroscience Research Program Bulletin, Volume 15, M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, MA (1977) Cone, R.A. and Dowling, J.E. (eds.): "Membrane Transduction Mechanisms, "Society of General Physiologists, Raven Press, New York (1979) Dowling, J.E., Proenza, L.M. and Atwell, C.W. (eds.): "Nutrition Pharmacology and Vision" Proceedings of a Symposium sponsored by the Committee on Vision of the National Research Council of Retina, Volume 2, pp. 231–380 (1982) Dowling, J.E., Kolb, H., Miller, R. and Tomita, T. (eds.): "Retinal Neurocircuitry with Special Reference to Synaptic Transmission, "Proceedings of the 4th Taniguchi International Symposium on Visual Science, Vision Research, Volume 23, Pergamon Press, Oxford (1983) Dowling, J.E., Kolb, H. and Waessle, H. (eds.): "Proceedings of the Brian Boycott Festschrift, "Visual Neuroscience, Volume 7 No. 1/2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England (1991) Barlow, R., Dowling, J.E. and Weissmann, G. (eds.): "The Biological Century," Harvard University Press (1992)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John E. Dowling

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John E. Dowling 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 John E. Dowling 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 John E. Dowling 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 John E. Dowling

In research: John E. Dowling 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 John E. Dowling 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: John E. Dowling is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American biologists, American print editors, Harvard Medical School alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John E. Dowling 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 John E. Dowling in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is John E. Dowling in simple terms?

John E. Dowling is an American neuroscientist and Gordon and Llura Gund Research Professor of Neurosciences Emeritus at Harvard University.

Why does John E. Dowling 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 John E. Dowling?

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 John E. Dowling.