astronomy

Stephanie Pfirman

Stephanie Pfirman 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 Stephanie Pfirman rather than just read about it. In short: Stephanie Louise Pfirman is a professor at Arizona State University known for her work on sea ice, pollutants in sea ice, and how sea ice is changing over time. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Stephanie Louise Pfirman is a professor at Arizona State University known for her work on sea ice, pollutants in sea ice, and how sea ice is changing over time. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Education and career Pfirman graduated from Roy C. Ketcham High School in New York and then received her B.A. from Colgate University in 1978. Following colleges she worked at the United States Geological Survey. She then earned her Ph.D. from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985. Following her Ph.D. she worked at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and then the Environmental Defense Fund where she was scientific coordinator for an exhibition on global warming that was presented at the American Museum of Natural History from May 1992 until January 1993. In 1993 she moved to Barnard College where she ultimately held the position of Alena Wels Hirschorn '58 and Martin Hirschorn Professor of Environmental and Applied Sciences. In 2018 she move to Arizona State University where, as of 2022, she is a professor.

Research Pfirman is known for her research on Arctic sea ice and the impact of global warming. Her early research examined glacial melting, sediment on Arctic ice, and transport of pollutants by sea ice. She has used her research on the movement of ice packs in the Arctic to consider how the voyages of Fridtjof Nansen and Ernest Shackleton may have been different if ice floes took a different path through the Arctic. Pfirman has examined decreases in sea ice in the Arctic, and developed games to teach people about global warming. Beyond academic research, Pfirman has examined how women make the decision to conduct Interdisciplinary research, and suggested and co-chaired the River Summer program that brought teachers to do hands-on studies of the Hudson River.

Selected publications Pfirman, S.; Lange, M. A.; Wollenburg, I.; Schlosser, P. (1990), "Sea Ice Characteristics and the Role of Sediment Inclusions in Deep-Sea Deposition: Arctic — Antarctic Comparisons", in Bleil, Ulrich; Thiede, Jörn (eds.), Geological History of the Polar Oceans: Arctic versus Antarctic, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 187–211, doi:10.1007/978-94-009-2029-3_11, ISBN 978-94-010-7410-0, retrieved 2022-12-21 Pfirman, S. L.; Eicken, H.; Bauch, D.; Weeks, W. F. (1995-01-10). "The potential transport of pollutants by Arctic sea ice". Science of the Total Environment. 159 (2): 129–146. Bibcode:1995ScTEn.159..129P. doi:10.1016/0048-9697(95)04174-Y. ISSN 0048-9697. Pavlov, V. K.; Pfirman, S. L. (1995-01-01). "Hydrographic structure and variability of the Kara Sea: Implications for pollutant distribution". Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. 42 (6): 1369–1390. Bibcode:1995DSRII..42.1369P. doi:10.1016/0967-0645(95)00046-1. ISSN 0967-0645. Pfirman, S. L.; Colony, R.; Nürnberg, D.; Eicken, H.; Rigor, I. (1997-06-15). "Reconstructing the origin and trajectory of drifting Arctic sea ice". Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 102 (C6): 12575–12586. Bibcode:1997JGR...10212575P. doi:10.1029/96JC03980. Rhoten, Diana; Pfirman, Stephanie (2007-02-01). "Women in interdisciplinary science: Exploring preferences and consequences". Research Policy. 36 (1): 56–75. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2006.08.001. ISSN 0048-7333.

Awards and honors In 2009 Phirman was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stephanie Pfirman

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stephanie Pfirman 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 Stephanie Pfirman 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 Stephanie Pfirman 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 Stephanie Pfirman

In research: Stephanie Pfirman 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 Stephanie Pfirman 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: Stephanie Pfirman is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American women earth scientists, Arctic scientists, Arizona State University faculty, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stephanie Pfirman 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 Stephanie Pfirman in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Stephanie Pfirman in simple terms?

Why does Stephanie Pfirman 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 Stephanie Pfirman?

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 Stephanie Pfirman.