astronomy

Les Ebdon

Les Ebdon 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 Les Ebdon rather than just read about it. In short: Sir Leslie Colin Ebdon CBE DL (born 26 January 1947 in Edmonton, London) is the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire and Director of Fair Access to Higher Education (head of the Office for Fair Access). Education Ebdon attended Hemel Hempstead Grammar School (became The Hemel Hempstead School in 1970).

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sir Leslie Colin Ebdon CBE DL (born 26 January 1947 in Edmonton, London) is the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire and Director of Fair Access to Higher Education (head of the Office for Fair Access).

Education

Ebdon attended Hemel Hempstead Grammar School (became The Hemel Hempstead School in 1970). Ebdon went on to obtain both his BSc in Chemistry in 1968 and PhD in 1971 at Imperial College London.

Career

Early appointments After lecturing at Makerere University, Kampala from 1971–3 and Sheffield City Polytechnic from 1973 to 1980, he joined what is now the University of Plymouth in 1981 as a lecturer in Analytical Chemistry. In 1989 he was promoted to Head of Department of Environmental Sciences and eventually rose to Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development). Ebdon's research interests are in environmental analytical chemistry and his various contributions to our understanding of the behaviour and importance of trace elements in the environment have led to over 250 publications and to several awards.

Vice-Chancellor and Chief executive Ebdon was appointed Vice-Chancellor and Chief executive of the University of Luton in September 2003. With the merger of the University and the Bedford campus of De Montfort University in August 2006 he became the Vice-Chancellor of the new University of Bedfordshire. He was succeeded by Bill Rammell as Vice-Chancellor on 1 September 2012, completing his move to the position of Director of Fair Access to Higher Education.

Director of Fair Access to Higher Education On 20 February 2012 Ebdon was appointed as Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, the regulator of fair access to higher education in England, despite media criticism and his selection being rejected by the Commons Select Committee tasked with reviewing the recommendation. The Director of Fair Access was a statutory appointment by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and was supported by the Office for Fair Access.

million+ think tank In August 2009, Ebdon, via the think tank 'million+', made the controversial suggestion that universities broaden the social mix of their students by allowing grade boost to poorer students in a bid to increase social mobility.

Other appointments Ebdon is a member of the DTI's Measurement Advisory committee and Chair of a Sub Committee, and he is also a member of the European Union DGXII Certification Working Group, known particularly for his expertise on environmental certified reference materials. Ebdon is a member of the Advisory Board of the Central Science Laboratory of DEFRA. He is currently Chair of Chemistry World Editorial Board and a Member of the Publications Board of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Ebdon is a member of the Structure and Bonding College of the EPSRC and has chaired various EPSRC committees and served on many Royal Society of Chemistry, National Environmental Research Committees, Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food and DTI Review Groups.

Recognition Ebdon was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours. He was knighted in the 2018 Birthday Honours in recognition of services to higher education and social mobility. Ebdon was named one of Britain's 500 Most Influential People by Debrett's in 2013. In 1995, the American Microchemical Society awarded him the Benedetti-Pichler medal for outstanding contributions to microchemistry. In 1986, Ebdon was the Royal Society of Chemistry, Analytical division, School's Lecturer and later in that same year was awarded the 13th SAC Silver Medal by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

References

External links Profile at University of Bedfordshire website Profile at millionplus.ac.uk Professor Ebdon: Curriculum Vitae

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Les Ebdon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Les Ebdon 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 Les Ebdon 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 Les Ebdon 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 Les Ebdon

In research: Les Ebdon 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 Les Ebdon 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: Les Ebdon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1947 births, Academic staff of Makerere University, Academics of Sheffield Hallam University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Les Ebdon 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 Les Ebdon in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Les Ebdon in simple terms?

Why does Les Ebdon 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 Les Ebdon?

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 Les Ebdon.