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astronomy

Wesley Kingston Whitten

Wesley Kingston Whitten 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 Wesley Kingston Whitten rather than just read about it. In short: Wesley Kingston Whitten (1 August 1918 – 24 May 2010) was a professor of reproductive biology at the Australian National University and later director of the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States. He was educated at the University of Sydney receiving a BVSc with honors in 1939; a BSc in 1941; and DSc in 1962.

Wesley Kingston Whitten — main illustration
Wesley Kingston Whitten — illustration

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Wesley Kingston Whitten (1 August 1918 – 24 May 2010) was a professor of reproductive biology at the Australian National University and later director of the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States. He was educated at the University of Sydney receiving a BVSc with honors in 1939; a BSc in 1941; and DSc in 1962. He was a Walter and Eliza Hall Fellow in Veterinary Science from 1940 to 1941. He served in the Australian Army Veterinary Corps and was an Australian Army Service Corps Captain from 1941 to 1945. He was research officer in Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) from 1946 to 1949. He was director of animal breeding and fellow in the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University from 1950 to 1961. He was assistant director of the National Biological Standards Laboratory, Canberra, Australia from 1961 to 1966. He was staff scientist at the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA from 1966 to 1969, became senior staff scientist from 1969 to 1980, and assistant director of research from 1971 to 1972. In 1982, he became a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and he was awarded the Marshall Medal from the Society for the Study of Fertility in 1993. He contributed to various areas in reproductive biology and fertility and was known for the Whitten effect. In 2008, the Australian National University began building the Wes Whitten building, which is a generic animal accommodation facility for research

His father was a Methodist minister (Alfred Giles Whitten) and his mother was Ethel Annie Whitten (née Cock). In 1941, he married Enid Elsbeth ('Beth') Cay Meredith. They had four children: Gregory, Mark, Jane, and Penelope. In 2002, he married J. Mary Taylor after the death of Beth in 1999.

References

Illustrations

Wesley Kingston Whitten illustration
Wesley Kingston Whitten: The Wes Whitten building at the ANU
The Wes Whitten building at the ANU

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wesley Kingston Whitten

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wesley Kingston Whitten 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 Wesley Kingston Whitten 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 Wesley Kingston Whitten 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 Wesley Kingston Whitten

In research
Wesley Kingston Whitten 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 Wesley Kingston Whitten 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
Wesley Kingston Whitten is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1918 births, 2010 deaths, Academic staff of the Australian National University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Wesley Kingston Whitten 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 Wesley Kingston Whitten in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Wesley Kingston Whitten means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Wesley Kingston Whitten out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wesley Kingston Whitten in simple terms?

Wesley Kingston Whitten (1 August 1918 – 24 May 2010) was a professor of reproductive biology at the Australian National University and later director of the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States. He was educated at the University of Sydney receiving a BVSc with honors in 1939; a BSc…

Why does Wesley Kingston Whitten 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 Wesley Kingston Whitten?

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 Wesley Kingston Whitten.

Tags

  • 1918 births
  • 2010 deaths
  • Academic staff of the Australian National University
  • Australian biologists
  • Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
  • University of Sydney alumni

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