astronomy

Siva Sivananthan

Siva Sivananthan 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 Siva Sivananthan rather than just read about it. In short: Professor Sivalingam Sivananthan (Tamil: சிவலிங்கம் சிவானந்தன்) is an American academic, scientist, businessman and Director of the Microphysics Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Early life and family Sivananthan was born in Madduvil South near Chavakachcheri in northern Ceylon.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Professor Sivalingam Sivananthan (Tamil: சிவலிங்கம் சிவானந்தன்) is an American academic, scientist, businessman and Director of the Microphysics Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Early life and family

Sivananthan was born in Madduvil South near Chavakachcheri in northern Ceylon. His father was a Tamil scholar from Valvettithurai and his mother was teacher of religion and science. He was educated at Saraswathi Maha Vidyalayam, Drieberg College and Jaffna Hindu College (1968–75). After school he joined the University of Peradeniya's Science Faculty in 1976, graduating in 1980 with a BS degree in physics.

Career After graduating Sivananthan lectured at Eastern University, Sri Lanka before joining the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1982 for post-graduate study. He obtained MSc (1985) and PhD (1988) degrees from the university. He is currently a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Microphysics Laboratory at the university's Department of Physics. Sivananthan entered business in 1998 when he founded EPIR Technologies Inc. Sivananthan is also founder and CEO of Sivananthan Laboratories Inc. based in Bolingbrook, Illinois. In May 2013 Sivananthan was awarded the "Champion of Change" (Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Innovators category) by the White House. He was awarded the Vidya Nidhi title in the 2017 Sri Lankan national honours. In 2010 he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for "seminal contributions to the growth technology of II-VI photovoltaic materials.".

References

External links EPIR Technologies Sivananthan Laboratories

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Siva Sivananthan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Siva Sivananthan 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 Siva Sivananthan 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 Siva Sivananthan 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 Siva Sivananthan

In research: Siva Sivananthan 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 Siva Sivananthan 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: Siva Sivananthan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic staff of the Eastern University, Sri Lanka, Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College, Alumni of the University of Peradeniya, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Siva Sivananthan 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 Siva Sivananthan in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Siva Sivananthan in simple terms?

Why does Siva Sivananthan 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 Siva Sivananthan?

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 Siva Sivananthan.