astronomy

Kenneth Raffa

Kenneth Raffa 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 Kenneth Raffa rather than just read about it. In short: Kenneth Franics Raffa (born in 1950) is an American entomologist. Early life and education Raffa was born in 1950 in Irvington, New Jersey, US, but raised near Delaware.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Kenneth Franics Raffa (born in 1950) is an American entomologist.

Early life and education Raffa was born in 1950 in Irvington, New Jersey, US, but raised near Delaware. Following his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Saint Joseph's University, he assisted with insect and disease surveys for the USDA Forest Service. As a result, he pursued graduate degrees in entomology from the University of Delaware and Washington State University. While conducting his PhD at Washington State, Raffa received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support his research on bark beetles. In 2015, Raffa was honored by the University of Delaware with their Distinguished Alumni award.

Career Following his PhD, Raffa became a research biologist at DuPont from 1981 to 1985 before joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UWM). Upon joining the faculty, Raffa continued his research into the population dynamics and ecology of forest insects. In 2000, Raffa was named a Vilas Associate for the 2000–2001 academic year. He was later recognized for his entomology work with the 2008 Kellett Mid-Career Award. As a result of his research, Raffa was promoted to the Beers-Bascom Professor of Conservation and was elected a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America. In 2010, he served as an associate/subject editor for three major North American journals by 2010 and received the Entomological Society of America Founders' Memorial Award. During his tenure at UWM, Raffa was praised by fellow entomology professor Susan Paskewitz for being the "preeminent forest entomologist in the world today." As a result, he was awarded the 2017 Hilldale Award as a UW-Madison faculty member who has made "distinguished contributions to teaching, research, and service." The following year, he received the 2018 ESA Plant-Insect Ecosystems Lifetime Achievement Award in Entomology. Raffa officially retired from UW-M at the conclusion of the 2018–19 academic year.

Personal life Raffa married his wife Anne in 1981 and they have two daughters together.

References

External links Kenneth Raffa publications indexed by Google Scholar

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kenneth Raffa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kenneth Raffa 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 Kenneth Raffa 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 Kenneth Raffa 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 Kenneth Raffa

In research: Kenneth Raffa 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 Kenneth Raffa 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: Kenneth Raffa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950 births, American entomologists, Fellows of the Entomological Society of America, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kenneth Raffa 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Kenneth Raffa” →

Affiliate

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

How to study Kenneth Raffa in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Kenneth Raffa in simple terms?

Kenneth Franics Raffa (born in 1950) is an American entomologist. Early life and education Raffa was born in 1950 in Irvington, New Jersey, US, but raised near Delaware.

Why does Kenneth Raffa 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 Kenneth Raffa?

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 Kenneth Raffa.