astronomy

Kurt H. Becker

Kurt H. Becker 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 Kurt H. Becker rather than just read about it. In short: Kurt H. Becker is a physicist and entrepreneur.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Kurt H. Becker is a physicist and entrepreneur. His research focuses on experimental atomic, chemical, and plasma physics. He is vice dean of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship at New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering. Becker holds seven patents regarding the generation and maintenance of atmospheric-pressure plasmas and their application.

Career In 1984, Becker began working at Lehigh University. He was head of the physics and engineering physics department, as well as associate director of the center for environmental systems at Stevens Institute of Technology. In 2001, he received the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey. Becker joined New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering in March 2007 when he was appointed associate provost for research and technology initiatives and dean of sciences and arts. Becker oversees the NYU Incubator programs which support startup companies, including ACRE, the NYC clean-tech incubator, and NYU's first incubator at Varick St. in lower Manhattan. In July 2009, Becker was appointed the third editor-in-chief of The European Physical Journal D: Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Plasma Physics to work with Franco Gianturco and Claude Fabre. His focus at the journal was low-temperature plasma physics. Becker is a consultant for Ionicon Analytik, a gas analysis instrument company in Austria. He is also a fellow of the American Physical Society and the National Academy of Inventors. Becker has also received the SASP Erwin Scroedinger Medal of the University of Innsbruck.

Research Becker focuses on the experimental and theoretical study of electron-driven processes in plasmas. Becker was part of a group of scientists leading the research on the determination of ionization cross sections of atoms and molecules. Their research worked toward the understanding of the charge carrier formation in plasmas. Becker also researches the properties of basic atmospheric-pressure microplasmas and their use in environmental, biological, and biomedical applications. His research showed that unstable plasmas, which can be guided with a vacuum, become more stable when confined to less than 1mm, allowing for the manipulation of chemicals within. This research resulted in 7 patents and formed the basis of 2 startup companies, PlasmaSol and Plasmion. PlasmaSol was sold to Stryker Instruments for $18,000,000 in 2005.

Selected bibliography R. Wang, S. Zuo, D. Wu, J. Zhang, W. Zhu, K. Becker, and J. Fang, "Microplasma-assisted Synthesis of Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles and their Use in the Detection of Cardiac Tropopin", Plasma Proc. Poly. 12, 380-391 (2015) K.H. Becker, B.B. Godfrey, E.E. Kunhardt, M. Laroussi, L.D. Ludeking, A.A. Neuber, E. Schamiloglu, and A.J. Woods, "Robert Barker Memorial Session: Leadership in Plasma Science and Applications", IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 43, 914-936 (2015) H. Deutsch, F.X. Bronold, and K. Becker, "Calculations of Electron-Impact Ionization Cross Sections: Bottom-up Inductive vs. Top-down Deductive Approaches, Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 365/366, 128-39 (2014) K. Becker, O. Herskowitz, M.J. Kotch, E. Wheeler, J. Aloise, J. Byrd, and J.M. Peterson, "PowerBridgeNY: A Cleantech Proof-of-Concept Center", Technology and Innovation 16(3-4), 215-222 (2014)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kurt H. Becker

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kurt H. Becker 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 Kurt H. Becker 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 Kurt H. Becker 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 Kurt H. Becker

In research: Kurt H. Becker 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 Kurt H. Becker 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: Kurt H. Becker is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American physicists, Fellows of the American Physical Society, Lehigh University faculty, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kurt H. Becker 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 “Kurt H. Becker” →

Affiliate

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

How to study Kurt H. Becker in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Kurt H. Becker in simple terms?

Kurt H. Becker is a physicist and entrepreneur.

Why does Kurt H. Becker 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 Kurt H. Becker?

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 Kurt H. Becker.