astronomy

Jonathan Shewchuk

Jonathan Shewchuk 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 Jonathan Shewchuk rather than just read about it. In short: Jonathan Richard Shewchuk is a Professor in Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He obtained his B.S. in Physics and Computing Science from Simon Fraser University in 1990, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, the latter in 1997.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Jonathan Richard Shewchuk is a Professor in Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He obtained his B.S. in Physics and Computing Science from Simon Fraser University in 1990, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, the latter in 1997. He conducts research in scientific computing, computational geometry (especially mesh generation, numerical robustness, surface reconstruction), numerical methods, and physically based animation. He is also the author of Three Sins of Authors In Computer Science And Math. In 2003, he was awarded the J. H. Wilkinson Prize for Numerical Software for writing the Triangle software package, which computes high-quality unstructured triangular meshes. He appears in online course videos of CS 61B: Data Structures class in University of California, Berkeley.

2024 misogyny incident In March 2024, Shewchuk came under criticism for making comments in response to a post made by a student on EdStem, an educational communication platform, asking for advice about his struggles dating, that was reported to the University by some who thought the comment was misogynistic. He stated

If you want a girlfriend, get out of the Bay Area. Almost everywhere else on the planet is better for that. I'm not kidding at all. You’ll be shocked by the stark differences in behavior of women in places where women are plentiful versus their behavior within artillery distance of San Jose and San Francisco. This statement was met with widespread condemnation by UC Berkeley faculty. Berkeley spokesperson Roqua Montez stated that comments was threatening and hurtful to students, especially women, and went against UC Berkeley's values. EECS Chair Claire Tomlin issued an apology on behalf of her department. Shewchuk issued an apology on the same platform, stating that he did not intend to disrespect women and only intended to help a student.

References

External links Homepage at Berkeley Homepage at CMU Tetrahedral Meshes with Good Dihedral Angles video of presentation at North Carolina State University in 2007 Jonathan Shewchuk at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jonathan Shewchuk

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jonathan Shewchuk 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 Jonathan Shewchuk 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 Jonathan Shewchuk 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 Jonathan Shewchuk

In research: Jonathan Shewchuk 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 Jonathan Shewchuk 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: Jonathan Shewchuk is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Carnegie Mellon University alumni, Computer scientist stubs, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jonathan Shewchuk 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.

Affiliate

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

How to study Jonathan Shewchuk in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Jonathan Shewchuk in simple terms?

Why does Jonathan Shewchuk 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 Jonathan Shewchuk?

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 Jonathan Shewchuk.