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Owen, Sir Richard

(Encyclopedia)Owen, Sir Richard, 1804–92, English zoologist and comparative anatomist. He studied medicine in Edinburgh and in 1827 joined the staff of the Hunterian museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, where...

measurement

(Encyclopedia)measurement, determination of the magnitude of a quantity by comparison with a standard for that quantity. Quantities frequently measured include time, length, area, volume, pressure, mass, force, and...

infrared astronomy

(Encyclopedia)infrared astronomy, study of celestial objects by means of the infrared radiation they emit, in the wavelength range from about 1 micrometer to about 1 millimeter. All objects, from trees and building...

demography

(Encyclopedia)demography dĭmŏgˈrəfē [key], science of human population. Demography represents a fundamental approach to the understanding of human society. Its primary tasks are to ascertain the number of peop...

Clark, Helen

(Encyclopedia)Clark, Helen, 1950–, New Zealand politician, prime minister (1999–2008), b. Hamilton, N.Z. A graduate of the Univ. of Auckland (B.A., 1971; M.A., 1974), she taught political science there (1973–...

Cohnheim, Julius

(Encyclopedia)Cohnheim, Julius yo͞oˈlyo͝os kōnˈhīm [key], 1839–84, German experimental histologist and pathologist. In a relatively brief life Cohnheim made a series of remarkable contributions to the rapid...

Haworth, Sir Walter Norman

(Encyclopedia)Haworth, Sir Walter Norman, 1883–1950, British chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Göttingen, 1911. Haworth held academic posts at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London (1911–12), the Univ. of...

Fontenelle, Bernard le Bovier de

(Encyclopedia)Fontenelle, Bernard le Bovier de bĕrnärˈ lə bōvyāˈ də fôNtənĕl [key], 1657–1757, French writer; nephew of Corneille. His forte was the interpretation of science. His works include Dialogu...

Fukui, Kenichi

(Encyclopedia)Fukui, Kenichi kĕnˈēchē fo͝oko͞oˈē, fo͝okˈo͞o-ē [key], 1918–98, Japanese chemist, b. Nara, Japan, Ph.D. Kyoto Univ., 1948. As a professor at Kyoto Univ., Fukui developed the theory that ...

National Institute of Standards and Technology

(Encyclopedia)National Institute of Standards and Technology, governmental agency within the U.S. Dept. of Commerce with the mission of “working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and st...