astronomy

Peter T. Ellison

Peter T. Ellison 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 Peter T. Ellison rather than just read about it. In short: Peter Thorpe Ellison (born 1951) is an American anthropologist who researches human reproductive ecology. His work has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship and membership of the National Academy of Sciences, among other honors.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Peter Thorpe Ellison (born 1951) is an American anthropologist who researches human reproductive ecology. His work has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship and membership of the National Academy of Sciences, among other honors. He has also served as the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Human Biology and American Journal of Physical Anthropology and editor of Annual Review of Anthropology.

Early life and education Peter Thorpe Ellison was born in 1951 to parents John W. Ellison, an Episcopal reverend, and Mary née Thorpe. He initially went to St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, where he at first majored in humanities. Upon reading Darwin's On the Origin of Species, he became more interested in biology and transferred to the University of Vermont, finishing his undergraduate degree in 1975. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts with his master's degree in 1980. He later attended Harvard University for his PhD.

Career Ellison researches how the human reproductive system interacts with external factors, which is known as human reproductive ecology. After finishing his PhD, he accepted a position in 1983 to remain at Harvard, where he currently works. He has served as the chair of Department of Anthropology and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at different points. He has been the editor-in-chief of several academic journals, including the American Journal of Human Biology, Annual Review of Anthropology, and American Journal of Physical Anthropology. He has authored or edited several books, including Reproductive Ecology and Human Evolution (2001), On Fertile Ground (2001), and Endocrinology of Social Relationships (2009).

Awards and honors In 1998 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his research. He was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2006. In 2019 he received the Franz Boas Lifetime Achievement Award from the Human Biology Association. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Personal life His wife, Priscilla "Pippi" née Lindsay, also attended St. John's, which is where they met as freshman. They were married at age 21 and both transferred to the University of Vermont.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Peter T. Ellison

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Peter T. Ellison 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 Peter T. Ellison 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 Peter T. Ellison 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 Peter T. Ellison

In research: Peter T. Ellison 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 Peter T. Ellison 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: Peter T. Ellison is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1951 births, 21st-century American anthropologists, Annual Reviews (publisher) editors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Peter T. Ellison 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 Peter T. Ellison in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Peter T. Ellison in simple terms?

Why does Peter T. Ellison 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 Peter T. Ellison?

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 Peter T. Ellison.