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madrasa

(Encyclopedia)madrasa or madrassah, in Islamic countries, a school, historically usually one devoted to higher education in religious studies, but the term may refer to any school. Privately endowed, often by royal...

Clarke, Arthur C.

(Encyclopedia)Clarke, Arthur C. (Sir Arthur Charles Clarke), 1917–2008, British science fiction writer. During World War II he served as a radar instructor and aviator in the Royal Air Force. After the war he obt...

American University of Beirut

(Encyclopedia)American University of Beirut, at Beirut, Lebanon; English language; chartered by New York State in 1866 as Syrian Protestant College, rechartered 1920 as the American Univ. of Beirut. It has facultie...

New Mexico, University of

(Encyclopedia)New Mexico, University of, main campus at Albuquerque; state supported; coeducational; chartered 1889, opened 1892. It maintains graduate centers at Los Alamos and Santa Fe and conducts joint research...

Elizabeth, queen of Romania

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth, 1843–1916, queen of Romania, consort of King Carol I, whom she married in 1869. Of German birth, she was the daughter of Hermann, prince of Wied. She completely identified herself with he...

Philippines, University of the

(Encyclopedia)Philippines, University of the, main campus at Quezon City, the Philippines; English language; founded 1908. Among its many schools and colleges are those of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, veterina...

education

(Encyclopedia)education, any process, either formal or informal, that shapes the potential of a maturing organism. Informal education results from the constant effect of environment, and its strength in shaping val...

water, desalination of

(Encyclopedia)water, desalination of, process of removing soluble salts from water to render it suitable for drinking, irrigation, or industrial uses. The principal methods used for desalination include distillatio...

Pascal, Blaise

(Encyclopedia)Pascal, Blaise blĕz päskälˈ [key], 1623–62, French scientist and religious philosopher. Studying under the direction of his father, a civil servant, Pascal showed great precocity, especially in ...

intuition

(Encyclopedia)intuition, in philosophy, way of knowing directly; immediate apprehension. The Greeks understood intuition to be the grasp of universal principles by the intelligence (nous), as distinguished from the...