astronomy

Miriam Balaban

Miriam Balaban 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 Miriam Balaban rather than just read about it. In short: Miriam Balaban (born in Philadelphia) is a publisher, editor and scientist, recognized for her work in science communication and desalination. She has founded international organizations (European Association of Science Editors; International Federation of Science Editors), conferences (International Conference of Scientific Editors) and journals (Desalination, editor 1966–2009; Desalination and Water Treatment, edi…

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Miriam Balaban (born in Philadelphia) is a publisher, editor and scientist, recognized for her work in science communication and desalination. She has founded international organizations (European Association of Science Editors; International Federation of Science Editors), conferences (International Conference of Scientific Editors) and journals (Desalination, editor 1966–2009; Desalination and Water Treatment, editor 2009-; Symbiosis 1985-) and has edited numerous journals, conference proceedings and books. She also publishes the Desalination Directory, an international online database. Balaban was a research associate for science communication at Boston University from 1975 to 2008. She became secretary general of the organizing committee of the International Federation of Scientific Editors' Associations (IFSEA) in 1978, and the founder and first president of its successor organization, the International Federation of Science Editors (IFSE) in 1990. She was Professor and founding Dean of the School for Science Communication at the Mario Negri Sud Institute for Biomedical and Pharmacological Research in Italy from 1988 to 1992. She has been the secretary general of the European Desalination Society (EDS) since 1993. Among other awards, Balaban received the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity from the President of Italy in 2012.

Early life Miriam Balaban was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls in 1945. She attended the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry in 1949.

Science communication Soon after graduating, Balaban moved to Jerusalem where she found work editing the quarterly scientific bulletin of the Government Research Council. The first volume of the Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel was published by Balaban in both English and Hebrew. Under her direction, publication of the bulletin was greatly expanded, eventually splitting into five separate publications focusing on various areas of science, published through the Weizmann Science Press. In 1958, Balaban established the Israel Program for Scientific Translation, contracting with the United States National Science Foundation to fund the translation of foreign language publications. In the United States, the Council of Biology Editors (CBE), later the Council of Science Editors (CSE), was formed in 1957 following discussions at the Conference of Biological Editors in New Orleans. CBE had the support of the National Science Foundation and the American Institute of Biological Sciences. In 1960, the organization published its first Style Manual for Biological Journals. At the 1964 CBE conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a special meeting was held for both American and European editors. This inspired the formation of similar organizations in Europe. Miriam Balaban helped to start the European Association of Editors of Biological Periodicals (EAEBP). EAEBP was formed in April 1967 in Amsterdam, and renamed European Life Science Editors (ELSE) at its first General Assembly, held at the Royal Society in London in 1970. In 1982, ELSE joined with the European Association of Earth Science Editors (Editerra) to form the European Association of Science Editors (EASE). Balaban served multiple terms as treasurer of the organization. Concerns of the organization included the development of international standards for science journals, guidelines for authors whose first language was not English, republishing of articles in multiple languages, and the improvement of science communication generally. From 1975 to 2008, Balaban was a research associate at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University, focusing on science communication. In 1977-1978 Balaban helped to found the International Federation of Scientific Editors' Associations (IFSEA). The idea for such an organization was put forward at the First International Conference of Scientific Editors, April 24–29, 1977, which Balaban organized. The idea was further discussed at a UNESCO-supported consultation meeting, chaired by Balaban, which was held June 5–6, 1978 in Paris, France. The formation of IFSEA was agreed upon and Balaban was named to the organizing committee as secretary-general. Balaban organized 12 international conferences for scientific editors, beginning in 1977 with the first International Conference of Scientific Editors in Jerusalem.

In 1990, IFSEA opened its membership to individuals as well as associations, and became IFSE, the International Federation of Science Editors (variously the International Federation of Scientific Editors), with Balaban as its founder and first president. Balaban is president, publisher and editor of the scientific publishing house International Science Services. Based in Rehovot, Israel and L'Aquila, Italy. ISS publishes in a variety of scientific disciplines. Balaban has supported the development of journals both within and outside her own field. In 1985, she worked with lichenologist Margalith Galun to create the journal Symbiosis. The first 48 issues were published by Balaban International Science Services. From October 2009 onwards, the journal has been published by Springer. She established the School for Science Communication at the Mario Negri Sud Institute for Biomedical and Pharmacological Research in Italy where she served as Professor and Dean from 1988 to 1992.

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Miriam Balaban

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Miriam Balaban 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 Miriam Balaban 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 Miriam Balaban 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 Miriam Balaban

In research: Miriam Balaban 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 Miriam Balaban 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: Miriam Balaban is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century American scientists, 21st-century American women scientists, 21st-century American women writers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Miriam Balaban 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 Miriam Balaban in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Miriam Balaban in simple terms?

Why does Miriam Balaban 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 Miriam Balaban?

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 Miriam Balaban.