astronomy

Paul E. Olsen

Paul E. Olsen 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 Paul E. Olsen rather than just read about it. In short: Paul E. Olsen (born August 4, 1953) is an American paleontologist and author and co-author of a large number of technical papers.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Paul E. Olsen (born August 4, 1953) is an American paleontologist and author and co-author of a large number of technical papers.

Biography As a teenager in Livingston, New Jersey, he helped get the Riker Hill Fossil Site named a National Natural Landmark by sending President Richard Nixon a dinosaur footprint cast from the site. He received a B.A. in Geology, M. Phil. and a Ph.D. in Biology at Yale University in 1984. His thesis was on the Newark Supergroup. His interests and research examine patterns of ecosystem evolution and extinction as a response to climate change over geological time, and Triassic and Jurassic continental ecosystems. His research methods include paleoclimatology, structural geology, paleontology, palynology, geochemistry, and geophysics. Olsen is the Arthur D. Storke Memorial Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, and a Research Associate at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, the American Museum of Natural History and the Virginia Natural History Museum, from which he received the Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Natural Science in 2015. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2008. Below is a list of taxa that Olsen has contributed to naming:

Recent publications Olsen, Paul E.; Sha, Jingeng; Fang, Yanan; Chang, Clara; Whiteside, Jessica H.; Kinney, Sean; Sues, Hans-Dieter; Kent, Dennis; Schaller, Morgan; Vajda, Vivi (July 2022). "Arctic ice and the ecological rise of the dinosaurs". Science Advances. 8 (26) eabo6342. Bibcode:2022SciA....8O6342O. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abo6342. PMC 10883366. PMID 35776799. S2CID 250218588. Olsen, P.E., Laskar, J., Kent, D.V., Kinney, S.T., Reynolds, D.J., Sha, J., Whiteside, J.H., 2019, Mapping Solar System chaos with the Geological Orrery. PNAS, May 28, 2019 116 (22) 10664-10673. Peter LeTourneau and Paul Olsen (ed.), (2003) The Great Rift Valleys of Pangea in Eastern North America, vol. 1-2, published by Columbia University Press. Volume 1: Tectonics, Structure, and Volcanism (ISBN 0-231-11162-2), Volume 2: Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, and Paleontology (ISBN 0-231-12676-X)

In production Olsen, Paul E., Dinosaur and Other Fossil Tracks of Eastern North America: Columbia University Press

References

External links Columbia homepage Curriculum Vitae of Paul E. Olsen Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul E. Olsen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul E. Olsen 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 Paul E. Olsen 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 Paul E. Olsen 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 Paul E. Olsen

In research: Paul E. Olsen 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 Paul E. Olsen 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: Paul E. Olsen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1953 births, American paleontologists, American people of Danish descent, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul E. Olsen 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 Paul E. Olsen in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul E. Olsen in simple terms?

Paul E. Olsen (born August 4, 1953) is an American paleontologist and author and co-author of a large number of technical papers.

Why does Paul E. Olsen 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 Paul E. Olsen?

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 Paul E. Olsen.