astronomy

Martin M. Kaplan

Martin M. Kaplan 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 Martin M. Kaplan rather than just read about it. In short: Martin M. Kaplan (23 June 1915 – 16 October 2004) was an American virologist, veterinary scientist and public health official.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Martin M. Kaplan (23 June 1915 – 16 October 2004) was an American virologist, veterinary scientist and public health official.

Early life Kaplan was born in Philadelphia to Russian immigrant parents and was the youngest of eight children. He developed an early interest in music and played the cello throughout his life. Kaplan earned his undergraduate degree from Temple University and obtained a doctor of veterinary medicine in 1940 and a master's degree in public health in 1942 from the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at Middlesex University (later Brandeis University) from 1942 to 1944.

Career During the Second World War, Kaplan joined the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). In 1945 he travelled to Greece with prize cattle to help restore local livestock, later working in Cyprus and Lebanon. In 1949 Kaplan joined the World Health Organization (WHO) and set up the Veterinary Public Health Unit. He later became director of science and technology, and then head of Research and Development. Kaplan focussed on rabies, influenza and tropical diseases. He was a leading figure in research on rabies vaccines and collaborated with scientists at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and the University of Wisconsin. In the 1960s and 1970s Kaplan participated in developing safer rabies vaccines for humans and animals. He was known for personally testing early versions of vaccines on himself.

Pugwash movement From the late 1950s, Kaplan became involved in the Pugwash Conferences, which brought together scientists from both sides of the Cold War. As secretary-general from 1976 to 1988, he organised dozens of workshops and study groups addressing nuclear, chemical and biological disarmament. Pugwash, and its founder Joseph Rotblat, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.

Later life and death Kaplan settled in Collonge-Bellerive, near Geneva in the early fifties. This was for a great part due to political pressures in the U.S. during the McCarthy era. Some of his friends fell victim to it. He remained active in music and in international disarmament discussions. Kaplan died of cancer in Geneva on 16 October 2004 at the age of 89. He was survived by his wife Lenna, their daughter and two sons.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Martin M. Kaplan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Martin M. Kaplan 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 Martin M. Kaplan 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 Martin M. Kaplan 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 Martin M. Kaplan

In research: Martin M. Kaplan 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 Martin M. Kaplan 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: Martin M. Kaplan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1915 births, 2004 deaths, American expatriates in Switzerland, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Martin M. Kaplan 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 Martin M. Kaplan in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Martin M. Kaplan in simple terms?

Martin M. Kaplan (23 June 1915 – 16 October 2004) was an American virologist, veterinary scientist and public health official.

Why does Martin M. Kaplan 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 Martin M. Kaplan?

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 Martin M. Kaplan.