astronomy

Richard J. Butler

Richard J. Butler 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 Richard J. Butler rather than just read about it. In short: Richard James Butler is a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Birmingham, where he holds the title of professor of palaeobiology. His research focuses on ornithischian dinosaur evolution, dinosaur origins, and fossil tetrapod macroevolution.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Richard James Butler is a vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Birmingham, where he holds the title of professor of palaeobiology. His research focuses on ornithischian dinosaur evolution, dinosaur origins, and fossil tetrapod macroevolution.

Biography Butler's undergraduate degree is a BSc in geology from the University of Bristol (2002). His Ph.D., in 2007, is from the University of Cambridge. He then worked at the London Natural History Museum, first as a postdoctoral research assistant (2006–2008), and then a NERC researcher co-investigator (2008–2009). From 2009-2011, he held a Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship at the GeoBio-Center, in Munich, Germany, then Junior Research Group Leader, Emmy Noether Programme (DFG), at the same institution from 2011–2013. He then came to the University of Birmingham, first as a Birmingham Fellow (2013–2015), then a Senior Birmingham Fellow and Academic Keeper of its Lapworth Museum of Geology (2015–2017). In 2017 he was appointed to a personal chair at Birmingham as Professor of Palaeobiology, adding to this the role of Director of Global Engagement, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham (2020–2022) and Director of Research & Knowledge Transfer, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham (2022–to date).

Professional work According to his web page at Birmingham, his interests are:

"Systematics, taxonomy, and anatomy of fossil reptiles, particularly dinosaurs and closely related groups Terrestrial recovery from the Permo-Triassic mass extinction event Phanerozoic and Mesozoic diversification patterns among vertebrates, and fossil record quality Late Palaeozoic–Mesozoic vertebrate biogeography Body size evolution and its drivers in deep time Early evolution of the avian respiratory system, and lung ventilation among fossil archosaurs" His most cited papers, according to Google Scholar are:

Butler RJ, Upchurch P, Norman DB. The phylogeny of the ornithischian dinosaurs. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 2008 Jan 1;6(1):1-40.[1], cited 237 times Brusatte SL, Nesbitt SJ, Irmis RB, Butler RJ, Benton MJ, Norell MA. The origin and early radiation of dinosaurs. Earth-Science Reviews. 2010 Jul 1;101(1-2):68-100, [2] cited 204 times Benson RB, Butler RJ, Lindgren J, Smith AS. Mesozoic marine tetrapod diversity: mass extinctions and temporal heterogeneity in geological megabiases affecting vertebrates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2009 Nov 18;277(1683):829-34.[3] cited 158 times Barrett PM, Butler RJ, Edwards NP, Milner AR. Pterosaur distribution in time and space: an atlas. Zitteliana:An Internal Journal of Paleontology and Geology. (University of Zurich) 2008:61-107. [4] cited 126 times

Awards He has received The President's Medal from the Palaeontological Association in 2023

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard J. Butler

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard J. Butler 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 Richard J. Butler 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 Richard J. Butler 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 Richard J. Butler

In research: Richard J. Butler 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 Richard J. Butler 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: Richard J. Butler is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alumni of the University of Bristol, Alumni of the University of Cambridge, Biologists of the University of Birmingham, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard J. Butler 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 Richard J. Butler in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard J. Butler in simple terms?

Why does Richard J. Butler 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 Richard J. Butler?

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 Richard J. Butler.