astronomy

Leslie Christidis

Leslie Christidis 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 Leslie Christidis rather than just read about it. In short: Leslie Christidis (born 30 May 1959), also simply known as Les Christidis, is an Australian ornithologist. His main research field is the evolution and systematics of birds.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Leslie Christidis (born 30 May 1959), also simply known as Les Christidis, is an Australian ornithologist. His main research field is the evolution and systematics of birds. He has been director of Southern Cross University National Marine Science Centre since 2009. He was assistant director at Sydney's Australian Museum from 2004 to 2009.

Career Leslie Christidis graduated as Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne in 1980. In 1985, he earned his Ph.D. at the Australian National University, where he studied the evolutionary genetics of Australian finches. Christidis was a postdoctoral fellow at the CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology from 1985-86, studying the evolution of Australian birds. In 1987, Christidis was the recipient of Queen Elizabeth II fellowship at the Australian National University. Through this research, Christidis demonstrated that 4,500 species of the world's songbirds had their origin in Australia. Les Christidis was Senior Curator of Ornithology at the Museum Victoria from 1987 to 1996. From 1997 to 2004, Christidis was Head Curator and Head of Sciences, developing exhibits in the Melbourne Museum, ScienceWorks, and Melbourne Planetarium. From 2004 to 2009, Christidis was the Assistant Director, Research and Collections at the Australian Museum. Les Christidis is the author or co-author of over 100 scientific papers and books on the taxonomy and evolutionary genetics of birds, bats, marsupials, bryozoans and more recently on cultural intangible heritage. Together with Walter E. Boles he published The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and Its Territories in 1994, with several revisions on Australasian birds including the family Acanthizidae. Together with Richard Schodde he described Amytornis barbatus diamantina, a subspecies of the grey grasswren, in 1987. He further described two subfamilies, Amalocichlinae and Pachycephalopsinae, and a genus, Cryptomicroeca in 2012. He was awarded the W. Roy Wheeler Medallion in 2005. Christidis is currently serving as the Pro Vice Chancellor (Research and Infrastructure) and Dean, Research Infrastructure and Operations in the office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Southern Cross University.

Selected works Les Christidis, Walter Boles: The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and Its Territories. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, 1994. ISBN 978-1-875122-06-6 Les Christidis, Walter Boles: Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing. 2008. ISBN 978-0-643-06511-6

References

External links Australian Bird List (compiled on basis of The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories by Boles/Christidis (1994))

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leslie Christidis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leslie Christidis 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 Leslie Christidis 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 Leslie Christidis 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 Leslie Christidis

In research: Leslie Christidis 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 Leslie Christidis 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: Leslie Christidis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1959 births, Australian National University alumni, Australian curators, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leslie Christidis 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 Leslie Christidis in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Leslie Christidis in simple terms?

Leslie Christidis (born 30 May 1959), also simply known as Les Christidis, is an Australian ornithologist. His main research field is the evolution and systematics of birds.

Why does Leslie Christidis 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 Leslie Christidis?

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 Leslie Christidis.