biology

Philip D. Gingerich

Philip D. Gingerich is a biology 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 Philip D. Gingerich rather than just read about it. In short: Philip Dean Gingerich (born March 23, 1946) is an American paleontologist and educator. He is a professor emeritus of geology, biology, and anthropology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and directed the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan (UMMP) from 1981 to 2010.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Philip Dean Gingerich (born March 23, 1946) is an American paleontologist and educator. He is a professor emeritus of geology, biology, and anthropology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and directed the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan (UMMP) from 1981 to 2010. His research focus is on vertebrate paleontology, especially the Paleocene–Eocene transition and early Cenozoic mammals. His primary research focus is on the origin of modern orders of mammals, and he is a leading expert on the evolution of primates and Whales. Gingerich was among the experts who analyzed the skeleton of Darwinius masillae.

Early life Gingerich grew up in a family of Amish Mennonites in eastern Iowa, where his grandfather was a farmer and a lay preacher. Yet, Gingerich felt no contradiction between religion and science: "My grandfather had an open mind about the age of the Earth," he says, "and never mentioned evolution. Remember, these were people of great humility, who only expressed an opinion on something when they knew a lot about it."

Education and awards Gingerich received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1968, a M.Phil. from Yale University in 1972, and a Ph.D., also from Yale, in 1974. All of his university degrees were in the field of geology. Gingerich was awarded the Henry Russel Award from the University of Michigan in 1980, the Shadle Fellowship Award from the American Society of Mammalogists in 1973, and the Charles Schuchert Award from the Paleontological Society in 1981. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001 and the American Philosophical Society in 2010 and was president of the Paleontological Society 2010–2012. He was awarded the Romer-Simpson Medal by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in 2012.

Research Rates of evolution Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum Origin and early evolution of whales (Cetacea) Origin and early evolution of primates

References

External links Whale Evolution at National Geographic

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Philip D. Gingerich

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Philip D. Gingerich claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, 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 Philip D. Gingerich 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 Philip D. Gingerich 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 Philip D. Gingerich

In research: Philip D. Gingerich appears in biology 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 Philip D. Gingerich 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: Philip D. Gingerich is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1946 births, American evolutionary biologists, American paleontologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Philip D. Gingerich 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 Philip D. Gingerich in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Philip D. Gingerich in simple terms?

Why does Philip D. Gingerich matter?

Because it connects several biology 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 Philip D. Gingerich?

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 Philip D. Gingerich.