biology

Thomas Desmond Hawkins

Thomas Desmond Hawkins 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 Thomas Desmond Hawkins rather than just read about it. In short: Thomas Desmond Hawkins, known as Desmond Hawkins, (22 May 1923 – 2 January 2015) was the dean of Cambridge University’s school of clinical medicine between 1979 and 1984, and a pioneer of interventional neuroradiology. While studying medicine at St.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Thomas Desmond Hawkins, known as Desmond Hawkins, (22 May 1923 – 2 January 2015) was the dean of Cambridge University’s school of clinical medicine between 1979 and 1984, and a pioneer of interventional neuroradiology. While studying medicine at St. Mary's Hospital, he assisted at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as a voluntary medical student. The Desmond Hawkins award, a bursary to assist medial students in studies abroad, is named in his honour.

Early life Desmond Hawkins was born on 22 May 1923. While studying medicine at St. Mary's Hospital, during the Second World War, he assisted casualties from the Normandy landings, and later at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as a voluntary medical student.

Career He studied radiology at Oxford and Manchester. In 1959 he was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists, and the following year he moved to Addenbrooke's Hospital. He was part of the team that managed the first group of patients at the “New Addenbrooke’s Hospital” in Hills Road. Hawkins made innovations in interventional neuroradiology, and become the first to treat carotico-cavernous fistulae with balloons. In 1979, he became the second clinical dean of Cambridge University’s school of clinical medicine.

Later life Following retirement in 1988, Hawkins pursued his interest in archeology and completed a MPhil in the subject. Between 1989 and 1993, he served as president of Hughes Hall.

Personal and family He married Margaret, whom he met during his time on the south coast while assisting servicemen at the Normandy D-day landings.

Death and legacy Hawkins died at home on 2 January 2015. The Desmond Hawkins award, a bursary to assist medial students in studies abroad, is named in his honour.

Selected publications Roads to Radiology: An Imaging Guide to Medicine and Surgery. Berlin Heidelberg; Springer-Verlag (1983). Co-authored with T. Sherwood, A.K. Dixon and M.L.J. Abercrombie ISBN 978-3-540-11801-5 "Radiological Investigation of Glomus Jugulare Tumours". Acta Radiologica. Vol. 5, Issue P1, 1 January 1966.

See also List of London medical students who assisted at Belsen

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thomas Desmond Hawkins

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thomas Desmond Hawkins 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 Thomas Desmond Hawkins 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 Thomas Desmond Hawkins 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 Thomas Desmond Hawkins

In research: Thomas Desmond Hawkins 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 Thomas Desmond Hawkins 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: Thomas Desmond Hawkins is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1923 births, 1945 in medicine, 2015 deaths, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thomas Desmond Hawkins 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 Thomas Desmond Hawkins in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Thomas Desmond Hawkins in simple terms?

Why does Thomas Desmond Hawkins 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 Thomas Desmond Hawkins?

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 Thomas Desmond Hawkins.