title: Fourier series

text: This immediately gives any coefficient "a" of the trigonometrical series for φ("y") for any function which has such an expansion. It works because if φ has such an expansion, then (under suitable convergence assumptions) the integral


title: Fourier series

text: can be carried out term-by-term. But all terms involving formula_103 for vanish when integrated from −1 to 1, leaving only the formula_104 term.


title: Fourier series

text: In these few lines, which are close to the modern formalism used in Fourier series, Fourier revolutionized both mathematics and physics. Although similar trigonometric series were previously used by Euler, d'Alembert, Daniel Bernoulli and Gauss, Fourier believed that such trigonometric series could represent any arbitrary function. In what sense that is actually true is a somewhat subtle issue and the attempts over many years to clarify this idea have led to important discoveries in the theories of convergence, function spaces, and harmonic analysis.


title: Fourier series

text: When Fourier submitted a later competition essay in 1811, the committee (which included Lagrange, Laplace, Malus and Legendre, among others) concluded: "...the manner in which the author arrives at these equations is not exempt of difficulties and...his analysis to integrate them still leaves something to be desired on the score of generality and even rigour".


title: Fourier series

text: The Fourier series expansion of the sawtooth function (above) looks more complicated than the simple formula formula_105, so it is not immediately apparent why one would need the Fourier series. While there are many applications, Fourier's motivation was in solving the heat equation. For example, consider a metal plate in the shape of a square whose sides measure formula_106 meters, with coordinates formula_107. If there is no heat source within the plate, and if three of the four sides are held at 0 degrees Celsius, while the fourth side, given by formula_108, is maintained at the temperature gradient formula_109 degrees Celsius, for formula_5 in formula_111, then one can show that the stationary heat distribution (or the heat distribution after a long period of time has elapsed) is given by


title: Fourier series

text: Here, sinh is the hyperbolic sine function. This solution of the heat equation is obtained by multiplying each term of by formula_113. While our example function formula_2 seems to have a needlessly complicated Fourier series, the heat distribution formula_115 is nontrivial. The function formula_116 cannot be written as a closed-form expression. This method of solving the heat problem was made possible by Fourier's work.


title: Fourier series

text: An example of the ability of the complex Fourier series to trace any two dimensional closed figure is shown in the adjacent animation of the complex Fourier series tracing the letter 'e' (for exponential). Note that the animation uses the variable 't' to parameterize the letter 'e' in the complex plane, which is equivalent to using the parameter 'x' in this article's subsection on complex valued functions.


title: Fourier series

text: In the animation's back plane, the rotating vectors are aggregated in an order that alternates between a vector rotating in the positive (counter clockwise) direction and a vector rotating at the same frequency but in the negative (clockwise) direction, resulting in a single tracing arm with lots of zigzags. This perspective shows how the addition of each pair of rotating vectors (one rotating in the positive direction and one rotating in the negative direction) nudges the previous trace (shown as a light gray dotted line) closer to the shape of the letter 'e'.


title: Fourier series

text: In the animation's front plane, the rotating vectors are aggregated into two sets, the set of all the positive rotating vectors and the set of all the negative rotating vectors (the non-rotating component is evenly split between the two), resulting in two tracing arms rotating in opposite directions. The animation's small circle denotes the midpoint between the two arms and also the midpoint between the origin and the current tracing point denoted by '+'. This perspective shows how the complex Fourier series is an extension (the addition of an arm) of the complex geometric series which has just one arm. It also shows how the two arms coordinate with each other. For example, as the tracing point is rotating in the positive direction, the negative direction arm stays parked. Similarly, when the tracing point is rotating in the negative direction, the positive direction arm stays parked.


title: Fourier series

text: In between the animation's back and front planes are rotating trapezoids whose areas represent the values of the complex Fourier series terms. This perspective shows the amplitude, frequency, and phase of the individual terms of the complex Fourier series in relation to the series sum spatially converging to the letter 'e' in the back and front planes. The audio track's left and right channels correspond respectively to the real and imaginary components of the current tracing point '+' but increased in frequency by a factor of 3536 so that the animation's fundamental frequency (n=1) is a 220 Hz tone (A220).


title: Fourier series

text: Another application is to solve the Basel problem by using Parseval's theorem. The example generalizes and one may compute ζ(2"n"), for any positive integer"n".


title: Fourier series

text: Some common pairs of periodic functions and their Fourier series coefficients are shown in the table below.


title: Fourier series

text: This table shows some mathematical operations in the time domain and the corresponding effect in the Fourier series coefficients. Notation:


title: Fourier series

text: When the real and imaginary parts of a complex function are decomposed into their even and odd parts, there are four components, denoted below by the subscripts RE, RO, IE, and IO. And there is a one-to-one mapping between the four components of a complex time function and the four components of its complex frequency transform:


title: Fourier series

text: If formula_130 are coefficients and formula_131 then there is a unique function formula_132 such that formula_133 for every formula_6.


title: Fourier series

text: Given formula_8-periodic functions, formula_136 and formula_137 with Fourier series coefficients formula_91 and formula_139 formula_140


title: Fourier series

text: formula_154 if formula_70 is a 2-periodic function on formula_156 which is formula_157 times differentiable, and its formula_104 derivative is continuous.


title: Fourier series

text: One of the interesting properties of the Fourier transform which we have mentioned, is that it carries convolutions to pointwise products. If that is the property which we seek to preserve, one can produce Fourier series on any compact group. Typical examples include those classical groups that are compact. This generalizes the Fourier transform to all spaces of the form "L"("G"), where "G" is a compact group, in such a way that the Fourier transform carries convolutions to pointwise products. The Fourier series exists and converges in similar ways to the case.


title: Fourier series

text: An alternative extension to compact groups is the Peter–Weyl theorem, which proves results about representations of compact groups analogous to those about finite groups.


title: Fourier series

text: If the domain is not a group, then there is no intrinsically defined convolution. However, if formula_172 is a compact Riemannian manifold, it has a Laplace–Beltrami operator. The Laplace–Beltrami operator is the differential operator that corresponds to Laplace operator for the Riemannian manifold formula_172. Then, by analogy, one can consider heat equations on formula_172. Since Fourier arrived at his basis by attempting to solve the heat equation, the natural generalization is to use the eigensolutions of the Laplace–Beltrami operator as a basis. This generalizes Fourier series to spaces of the type formula_175, where formula_172 is a Riemannian manifold. The Fourier series converges in ways similar to the formula_177 case. A typical example is to take formula_172 to be the sphere with the usual metric, in which case the Fourier basis consists of spherical harmonics.


title: Fourier series

text: The generalization to compact groups discussed above does not generalize to noncompact, nonabelian groups. However, there is a straightforward generalization to Locally Compact Abelian (LCA) groups.


title: Fourier series

text: This generalizes the Fourier transform to formula_179 or formula_180, where formula_181 is an LCA group. If formula_181 is compact, one also obtains a Fourier series, which converges similarly to the formula_177 case, but if formula_181 is noncompact, one obtains instead a Fourier integral. This generalization yields the usual Fourier transform when the underlying locally compact Abelian group is formula_156.


title: Fourier series

text: We can also define the Fourier series for functions of two variables formula_5 and formula_187 in the square formula_188:


title: Fourier series

text: Aside from being useful for solving partial differential equations such as the heat equation, one notable application of Fourier series on the square is in image compression. In particular, the jpeg image compression standard uses the two-dimensional discrete cosine transform, a discrete form of the Fourier cosine transform, which uses only cosine as the basis function.


title: Fourier series

text: For two-dimensional arrays with a staggered appearance, half of the Fourier series coefficients disappear, due to additional symmetry.


title: Fourier series

text: where formula_191 are integers and formula_192 are three linearly independent vectors. Assuming we have some function, formula_193, such that it obeys the condition of periodicity for any Bravais lattice vector formula_194, formula_195, we could make a Fourier series of it. This kind of function can be, for example, the effective potential that one electron "feels" inside a periodic crystal. It is useful to make the Fourier series of the potential when applying Bloch's theorem. First, we may write any arbitrary position vector formula_196 in the coordinate-system of the lattice:


title: Fourier series

text: where formula_198 meaning that formula_199 is defined to be the magnitude of formula_192, so formula_201 is the unit vector directed along formula_192.


title: Fourier series

text: This new function, formula_204, is now a function of three-variables, each of which has periodicity formula_205, formula_206, and formula_207 respectively:


title: Fourier series

text: This enables us to build up a set of Fourier coefficients, each being indexed by three independent integers formula_209. In what follows, we use function notation to denote these coefficients, where previously we used subscripts. If we write a series for formula_210 on the interval formula_211 for formula_212, we can define the following:


title: Fourier series

text: Now, every "reciprocal" lattice vector can be written (but does not mean that it is the only way of writing) as formula_222, where formula_223 are integers and formula_224 are reciprocal lattice vectors to satisfy formula_225 (formula_226 for formula_227, and formula_228 for formula_229). Then for any arbitrary reciprocal lattice vector formula_230 and arbitrary position vector formula_196 in the original Bravais lattice space, their scalar product is:


title: Fourier series

text: So it is clear that in our expansion of formula_233, the sum is actually over reciprocal lattice vectors:


title: Fourier series

text: we can solve this system of three linear equations for formula_5, formula_187, and formula_239 in terms of formula_212, formula_241 and formula_242 in order to calculate the volume element in the original cartesian coordinate system. Once we have formula_5, formula_187, and formula_239 in terms of formula_212, formula_241 and formula_242, we can calculate the Jacobian determinant:


title: Fourier series

text: which after some calculation and applying some non-trivial cross-product identities can be shown to be equal to:


title: Fourier series

text: (it may be advantageous for the sake of simplifying calculations, to work in such a Cartesian coordinate system, in which it just so happens that formula_251 is parallel to the "x" axis, formula_252 lies in the "xy"-plane, and formula_253 has components of all three axes). The denominator is exactly the volume of the primitive unit cell which is enclosed by the three primitive-vectors formula_251, formula_252 and formula_253. In particular, we now know that


title: Fourier series

text: We can write now formula_258 as an integral with the traditional coordinate system over the volume of the primitive cell, instead of with the formula_212, formula_241 and formula_242 variables:


title: Fourier series

text: writing formula_263 for the volume element formula_264; and where formula_265 is the primitive unit cell, thus, formula_266 is the volume of the primitive unit cell.


title: Fourier series

text: In the language of Hilbert spaces, the set of functions formula_267 is an orthonormal basis for the space formula_268 of square-integrable functions on formula_177. This space is actually a Hilbert space with an inner product given for any two elements formula_36 and formula_210 by:


title: Fourier series

text: This corresponds exactly to the complex exponential formulation given above. The version with sines and cosines is also justified with the Hilbert space interpretation. Indeed, the sines and cosines form an orthogonal set:


title: Fourier series

text: furthermore, the sines and cosines are orthogonal to the constant function formula_279. An "orthonormal basis" for formula_268 consisting of real functions is formed by the functions formula_279 and formula_282, formula_283 with "n"= 1,2... The density of their span is a consequence of the Stone–Weierstrass theorem, but follows also from the properties of classical kernels like the Fejér kernel.


title: Fourier series

text: These theorems, and informal variations of them that don't specify the convergence conditions, are sometimes referred to generically as "Fourier's theorem" or "the Fourier theorem".


title: Fourier series

text: The earlier formula_284 is a trigonometric polynomial of degree formula_3 that can be generally expressed as: formula_286


title: Fourier series

text: </math> Fourier coefficient of the derivative formula_161. It follows, essentially from the Cauchy–Schwarz inequality, that formula_288 is absolutely summable. The sum of this series is a continuous function, equal to formula_70, since the Fourier series converges in the mean to formula_70:


title: Fourier series

text: This result can be proven easily if formula_70 is further assumed to be formula_292, since in that case formula_293 tends to zero as formula_294. More generally, the Fourier series is absolutely summable, thus converges uniformly to formula_70, provided that formula_70 satisfies a Hölder condition of order formula_297. In the absolutely summable case, the inequality:


title: Fourier series

text: Many other results concerning the convergence of Fourier series are known, ranging from the moderately simple result that the series converges at formula_5 if formula_70 is differentiable at formula_5, to Lennart Carleson's much more sophisticated result that the Fourier series of an formula_302 function actually converges almost everywhere.


title: Fourier series

text: Since Fourier series have such good convergence properties, many are often surprised by some of the negative results. For example, the Fourier series of a continuous "T"-periodic function need not converge pointwise. The uniform boundedness principle yields a simple non-constructive proof of this fact.


title: Fourier series

text: In 1922, Andrey Kolmogorov published an article titled "Une série de Fourier-Lebesgue divergente presque partout" in which he gave an example of a Lebesgue-integrable function whose Fourier series diverges almost everywhere. He later constructed an example of an integrable function whose Fourier series diverges everywhere .


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: INS "Vikrant" () is an aircraft carrier constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at Kerala for the Indian Navy. It is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India. It is named "Vikrant" as a tribute to India's first aircraft carrier, INS "Vikrant" (1961). The name "Vikrant" means "courageous" in Sanskrit. The motto of the ship, "जयेम सं युधिस्पृधः", means "I defeat those who fight against me".


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: Up to 26 MiG-29K fighter jets along with 4 Kamov Ka-31 helicopters or 2 HAL Dhruv NUH utility helicopters or 4 MH-60R multi-role helicopters will fly from INS "Vikrant". At a length, with a top speed of , and endurance of , the ship has 2,300 compartments manned by 1700 seamen. It has a hospital complex, cabins for female officers, two football field-sized flight decks, of corridors, and eight generators capable of lighting up a city of 2 million people.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: Work on the ship's design began in 1999, and the keel was laid in 2009. The carrier was floated out of dry dock on 29 December 2011 and launched on 12 August 2013. Basin trials were completed in December 2020, and sea trials started in August 2021. Her commissioning ceremony was held on 2 September 2022. Aircraft flight trials will be completed in 2023. The total cost of the project is approximately at the time of first sea trials.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: In 1999, Defence Minister George Fernandes authorised the development and construction of an aircraft carrier, INS "Vikrant", under the Project 71 Air Defence Ship (ADS). By that time, given the ageing Sea Harrier fleet, the letter of intent called for a carrier that would carry more modern jet fighters. In 2001, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) released a graphic illustration showing a STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) design with a pronounced ski jump. The aircraft carrier project finally received formal government approval in January 2003. By then, design updates called for a carrier to operate the Mikoyan MiG-29K. India opted for a three-carrier fleet consisting of one carrier battle group stationed on each seaboard, and a third carrier held in reserve, in order to continuously protect both its flanks, to protect economic interests and mercantile traffic, and to provide humanitarian platforms in times of disasters, since a carrier can provide a self-generating supply of fresh water, medical assistance or engineering expertise to populations in need for assistance.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: In August 2006, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash stated that the designation for the vessel had been changed from Air Defence Ship (ADS) to Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC). The euphemistic ADS had been adopted in planning stages to ward off concerns about a naval build-up. Final revisions to the design increased the displacement of the carrier from 37,500 tons to over 45,000 tons. The length of the ship also increased from to .


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: The indigenous aircraft carrier INS "Vikrant" is long and wide, and displaces about . It features a STOBAR configuration with a ski-jump. The deck is designed to enable aircraft such as the MiG-29K to operate from the carrier. It is expected to carry an air group of up to thirty aircraft, which will include up to 24–26 fixed-wing combat aircraft, primarily the MiG-29K, besides carrying 10 HAL Dhruv or Sikorskey MH 60R Romeo helicopters. The Ka-31 will fulfill the airborne early warning (AEW) role and the Sea King will provide anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: "Vikrant" is powered by four General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines on two shafts, generating over 80 megawatts (110,000 hp) of power. The gearboxes for the carriers were designed and supplied by Elecon Engineering.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: The ship's combat management system (CMS) was developed by Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division in collaboration with Weapon and Electronics System Engineering Establishment and MARS, Russia. It is the first CMS developed by a private company for the Indian Navy, and was handed over to the Navy on 28 March 2019.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: India considered a number of aircraft for operation from its aircraft carrier, and the planned indigenous aircraft carrier. India evaluated the Russian Sukhoi Su-33, but chose the lighter MiG-29K as "Vikramaditya" was smaller and lacked an aircraft catapult. On 18 January 2010, it was reported that India and Russia were close to signing a deal for 29 MiG-29K fighters to operate from IAC-1. In addition, the Navy signed a deal for six naval-variants of the indigenous HAL Tejas. In June 2012, "Flight Global" reported that the Indian Navy was considering the use of the Dassault Rafale M (Naval variant) on these carriers. On 6 January 2022, The Indian Navy started testing the Rafale-M for operations from INS "Vikrant" at the shore-based test facility at INS Hansa in Goa. Some reports citing the same also indicated that the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet would be tested at the same locale in March 2022


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: In December 2016, the Navy announced that the HAL Tejas was overweight for carrier operations, and other alternatives would be looked at. The Navy settled with MiG-29K as the primary aircraft for the IAC-1.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: In late January 2017, the Indian Navy released an international Request for Information (RFI) for 57 "Multi-Role Carrier Borne Fighters". The main contest was between the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the Dassault Rafale-M. Both these aircraft are operable on the "Vikrant" and "Vikramaditya". In December 2020, Boeing demonstrated F/A-18E/F operations from Indian carriers at the shore-based test facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, US. In mid 2020, the Navy announced that it was seeking 36 fighters instead of the initial 57 proposed due to budgetary constraints.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: After the HAL Tejas and the Tejas Mk2 were considered overweight for carrier operations, the Defence Research and Development Organization introduced a program to develop a twin-engine, carrier based, multirole combat aircraft called the HAL Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) for the Indian Navy. A model of the aircraft was displayed at Aero India 2021. The first flight is expected in 2026 with induction into the forces by 2032. The TEDBF is expected to perform multiple roles like combat air patrol, air-to-air combat, anti-ship strike and buddy refueling. This aircraft has also been envisioned to operate from the INS "Vikrant", INS "Vikramaditya" and the future aircraft carrier INS "Vishal".


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: "Vikrant" is the first aircraft carrier to be designed by the Warship Design Bureau (formerly Directorate of Naval Design) of the Indian Navy and the first warship to be built by Cochin Shipyard. Its construction involved participation of a large number of private and public firms.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: The Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) created facilities to manufacture the DMR 249 grade steel in India. Reportedly, of three types of special steel for the hull, flight deck and floor compartments were manufactured at the Bokaro Steel Plant, Jharkhand, Bhilai Steel Plant, Chhattisgarh and Rourkela Steel Plant, Odisha. Due to this, "Vikrant" is the first ship of the Indian Navy to be built completely using domestically produced steel. The main switch board, steering gear and water tight hatches have been manufactured by Larsen & Toubro in Mumbai and Talegaon; high-capacity air conditioning and refrigeration systems have been manufactured in Kirloskar Group's plants in Pune; most pumps have been supplied by Best and Crompton; Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) supplied the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), which is being installed by Avio, an Italian company; the gear box was supplied by Elecon Engineering; and the electrical cables are being supplied by Nicco Industries. Fincantieri provided consultancy for the propulsion package while Russia's Nevskoye Design Bureau designed the aviation complex.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: The keel for "Vikrant" was laid by Defence Minister A.K. Antony at the Cochin Shipyard on 28 February 2009. The ship uses modular construction, with 874 blocks joined for the hull. By the time the keel was laid, 423 blocks weighing over 8,000 tons had been completed. In August 2011, the Defence Ministry reported to the Lok Sabha that 75% of the construction work for the hull of the lead carrier had been completed and the carrier would be first launched in December 2011, following which further works would be completed until commissioning. On 29 December 2011, the completed hull of the carrier was first floated out of its dry dock at CSL, with its displacement at over . Interior works and fittings on the hull would be carried out until the second half of 2012, when it would again be dry-docked for integration with its propulsion and power generation systems. By late 2012, work commenced for the next stage of construction, which included the installation of the integrated propulsion system, the superstructure, the upper decks, the cabling, sensors and weapons.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: In July 2013, Defence Minister Antony announced that "Vikrant" would be launched on 12 August at the Cochin Shipyard. The ship was launched by his wife, Elizabeth Antony, on 12 August 2013.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: According to Admiral Robin Dhowan, about 83% of the fabrication work and 75% of the construction work had been completed at the time of launching. He said that 90% of the body work of the aircraft carrier had been designed and made in India, about 50% of the propulsion system, and about 30% of its weaponry. He also said that the ship would be equipped with a long range missile system with multi-function radar and a close-in weapon system (CIWS). After the launch, "Vikrant" would be re-docked for the second phase of construction, in which the ship would be fitted with various weapons and sensors, and the propulsion system, flight deck and the aircraft complex would be integrated.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: "Vikrant" was undocked on 10 June 2015 after the completion of structural work. Cabling, piping, heat and ventilation works were scheduled to be completed by 2017 with sea trials to begin thereafter. By October 2015, the construction of the hull was close to 98 percent complete, with flight deck construction underway. The installation of machinery, piping and the propeller shafts was in progress by January 2016; it was reported, however, that there were delays in the delivery of equipment from Russia for the carrier's aviation complex. By May 2017, the carrier's fitting-out was 62% complete, with trials of the auxiliary systems scheduled by late 2017.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: On 31 October 2019, Cochin Shipyard received a contract for the Phase-III of the project. This contract included funds for the harbour trials, sea trials and support for the ship during its weapons and aviation trials after its delivery. In December 2019, it was reported the engines had been switched on. By September 2020, "Vikrant" had completed harbour trials while the basin trials started from October 2020 to check propulsion, electric transmission and shafting systems. On 30 November 2020, the basin trials were completed, paving the way for sea trials, the final phase of the IAC-I project.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: In April 2021, it was reported work had begun to integrate the long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) onboard "Vikrant." On 15 June 2021, "Vikrant" was moved to the Ernakulam Wharf in Kochi, Kerala. On 4 August 2021, sea trials finally began. The first phase of the sea trials was successfully completed on 8 August 2021. The second phase of the trials was conducted on 24 October 2021, followed by the third phase from 9–17 January 2022, both of which were completed successfully. On 10 July, the fourth and final phase of the sea trials was successfully completed. This phase involved integrated trials of most of the equipment and systems aboard "Vikrant", including portions of the Aviation Facilities Complex.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS "Vikrant" on 2 September 2022 in a grand ceremony at Cochin Shipyard. Earlier, INS "Vikrant" was delivered to the Indian Navy on 28 July 2022. Flight trials of its aircraft complement are expected to be completed by mid-2023, after which the ship will be fully operational. In March 2020, it was revealed that after its commissioning, the Navy will deploy "Vikrant" at Larsen & Toubro's shipyard in Kattupalli near Chennai. This was done as the planned naval base in Rambilli near Vishakhapatnam was not ready yet. The Navy wants to lease a 260 m berth at Kattupalli shipyard for 8 years between 2022 and 2030 for interim berthing of the ship, by which time the naval base at Rambilli is expected to be available.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: The IAC project experienced numerous delays. The construction plan originally called for the carrier to be launched in 2010, when it would displace some , as a larger displacement could not be accommodated in the building bay. It was planned that after about a year's development in the refit dock, the carrier would be launched when all the major components, including underwater systems, would be in place. Outfitting would then be carried out after launch. "Vikrant" was intended to be delivered in December 2010 and commissioned in 2016. As per the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), sea trials were initially planned to commence in 2013, with the ship to be commissioned in 2014. This was later postponed, with sea trials to begin in 2017 and commissioning planned for 2018. In March 2011, it was reported that the project had been affected by the delay in the delivery of the main gearboxes for the carrier. The supplier, Elecon, attributed it to having to work around a number of technical complexities due to the length of the propulsion shafts. Other issues resulting in delays included an accident with a diesel generator and an issue with its alignment. In July 2012, "The Times of India" reported that construction of "Vikrant" had been delayed by three years, and the ship would be ready for commissioning by 2018. Later, in November 2012, Indian English-language news channel "NDTV" reported that the cost of the aircraft carrier had increased and the delivery has been delayed by at least five years and is expected to be with the Indian Navy only after 2018 as against the scheduled date of delivery of 2014.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: In July 2016, the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) published a 2014 project plan, supplied by the Cochin Shipyard, that showed an expected completion date in 2023, though the Navy hoped to partially commission the ship before this date. In December 2017, the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba announced that the ship was expected to commence sea trials and be commissioned in 2020. In January 2018, Commodore J Chowdhary, the principal director of naval design, announced the remaining procurement delays stalling "Vikrant"s construction had been resolved, and that the carrier would be completed and delivered by December 2018; it would then undergo two years of sea trials before its then-expected commissioning in October 2020.


title: INS Vikrant (2013)

text: During the December 2019 Navy Day press briefing, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh said "Vikrant" would be fully operational before the end of 2022. A part of the blame for the delay in delivery of "Vikrant" was attributed to the delay in the supply of aviation equipment from Russia. In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Sripad Naik, the Minister of State for Defence, stated: "Ship's targeted delivery was affected due to delay in supply of aviation equipment from Russia". The Navy expected to commission "Vikrant" by the end of 2021, with an April 2021 report by the "Hindustan Times" claiming "Vikrant", along with the stealth guided missile destroyer , would be delivered to the Indian Navy by the end of 2021. Other construction and procurement delays initially delayed the warship's sea trials to April 2020 from their originally scheduled date of 12 March 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, trials were further postponed to late 2020, but ultimately began in August 2021. The carrier was commissioned on 2 September 2022.


title: Ocelot

text: The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. It prefers areas close to water sources with dense vegetation cover and high prey availability.


title: Ocelot

text: Typically active during twilight and at night, the ocelot tends to be solitary and territorial. It is efficient at climbing, leaping and swimming. It preys on small terrestrial mammals, such as armadillos, opossums, and lagomorphs. Both sexes become sexually mature at around two years of age and can breed throughout the year; peak mating season varies geographically. After a gestation period of two to three months the female gives birth to a litter of one to three kittens. They stay with their mother for up to two years, after which they leave to establish their own home ranges.


title: Ocelot

text: The ocelot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, and is threatened by habitat destruction, hunting, and traffic accidents. While its range is very large, various populations are decreasing in many parts of its range. The association of the ocelot with humans dates back to the Aztec and Incan civilizations; it has occasionally been kept as a pet.


title: Ocelot

text: The name "ocelot" comes from the Nahuatl word (), which generally refers to the jaguar, rather than the ocelot. Another possible origin for the name is the Latin ("having little eyes" or "marked with eye-like spots"), in reference to the cat's spotted coat.


title: Ocelot

text: Other vernacular names for the ocelot include (Venezuela), (Argentina), (Panama), (Suriname), , (Brazil), (Costa Rica, Panama and Venezuela), , , , , (Belize), (Bolivia) and (Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Peru).


title: Ocelot

text: "Felis pardalis" was the scientific name proposed for the ocelot by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The genus "Leopardus" was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1842 for several spotted cat skins in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London.


title: Ocelot

text: In 1919, Allen reviewed the specimens described until 1914, placed them into the genus "Leopardus" and recognized nine subspecies as valid taxa based on the colors and spot patterns of skins. In 1941, Pocock reviewed dozens of ocelot skins in the collection of the Natural History Museum and regrouped them to nine different subspecies, also based on their colors and spots. Later authors recognized 10 subspecies as valid.


title: Ocelot

text: In 1998, results of a mtDNA control region analysis of ocelot samples indicated that four major ocelot groups exist, one each in Central America, northwestern South America, northeastern South America and southern South America south of the Amazon River. A 2010 study of morphological features noted significant differences in the size and color of the Central and South American populations, suggesting they could be separate species. In 2013, a study of craniometric variation and microsatellite diversity in ocelots throughout the range recognized three subspecies: "L. p. albescens" from the Texas–Mexico border, "L. p. pardis" from Central America and "L. p. pseudopardalis" from South America, though "L. p. mitis" may comprise the ocelot population in the southern part of South America.


title: Ocelot

text: In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group noted that up to four subspecies can be identified, but recognized only two as valid taxa. These two taxa differ in morphological features and are geographically separated by the Andes:


title: Ocelot

text: Results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the "Leopardus" lineage genetically diverged from the Felidae around 8 million years ago (mya). The ocelot is estimated to have diverged from the margay ("Leopardus wieldii") between 2.41 and 1.01 mya. The relationships of the ocelot within the Felidae is considered as follows:


title: Ocelot

text: The ocelot's fur is extensively marked with solid black markings on a creamy, tawny, yellowish, reddish gray or gray background color. The spots on the head and limbs are small, but markings on the back, cheeks, and flanks are open or closed bands and stripes. A few dark stripes run straight from the back of the neck up to the tip of the tail. Its neck and undersides are white, and the insides of the legs are marked with a few horizontal streaks. Its round ears are marked with a bright white spot. Its fur is short, about long on the belly, but with about long guard hairs on the back. The body has a notably strong odor.


title: Ocelot

text: Its eyes are brown, but reflect in a golden hue when illuminated. It has 28 to 30 teeth, with the dental formula .


title: Ocelot

text: With a head-and-body length ranging from and a long tail, the ocelot is the largest member of the genus "Leopardus". It typically reaches at the shoulder. The weight of females ranges between and of males between . Its footprint measures nearly .


title: Ocelot

text: The ocelot can be confused with the margay ("Leopardus wiedii") and the oncilla ("L. tigrinus"), though the ocelot is noticeably larger and heavier with a shorter tail. Though all three have rosettes on their coats, the ocelot typically has a more blotched pattern; the oncilla has dark spots on its underbelly unlike the other two. Other differences lie in the facial markings, appearance of the tail and fur characteristics. The ocelot is similar in size to a bobcat ("Lynx rufus"), though larger individuals have occasionally been recorded.


title: Ocelot

text: The ocelot ranges from the southwestern United States to northern Argentina, up to an elevation of . In the United States, it is found in Texas and Arizona, and is extirpated from Louisiana and Arkansas. Fossils of ocelots were found in Florida, specifically in the Reddick Fossil Site.


title: Ocelot

text: It inhabits tropical forests, thorn forests, mangrove swamps and savannas. A 2019 study in the Brazilian Amazon showed that it prefers habitats with good availability of prey and water, and tends to avoid other predators. It favors areas with dense forest cover and water sources, far from roads and human settlement, avoiding steep slopes and highly elevated areas due to lack of prey. In areas where ocelots coexist with larger predators such as the cougar and human beings, they may tune their active hours to avoid them, and seek dense cover to avoid competitors. It can adapt well to its surroundings; as such, factors other than the aforementioned are not significant in its choice of habitat.


title: Ocelot

text: The ocelot is usually solitary and active mainly during twilight and at night. Radio collared individuals in the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Peru rested during the day and became active earliest in the late afternoon; they moved between 3.2 and 17 hours until dawn and then returned to their dens.


title: Ocelot

text: During the daytime, it rests on trees, in dens below large trees or other cool, sheltered sites on the ground. It is agile in climbing and leaping, and escapes predators by jumping on trees. It is also an efficient swimmer. It scent-marks its territory by spraying urine. The territories of males are large, while those of females cover . Territories of females rarely overlap, whereas the territory of a male includes those of two to three females. Social interaction between sexes is minimal, though a few adults have been observed together even in non-mating periods, and some juveniles interact with their parents. Data from camera trapping studies confirm that several ocelot individuals deposit scat in one or several communal sites, called latrines. The ocelot can be aggressive in defending its territory, fighting even to death.


title: Ocelot

text: The population density of ocelots has been observed to be high in areas with high rainfall, and tend to decrease with increasing latitude; highest densities have been recorded in the tropics. In 2014, the ocelot population density in Barro Colorado Island was estimated to be , greater than recorded in northwestern Amazon in Peru in 2010, which was the densest ocelot population recorded thus far.


title: Ocelot

text: Potential predators of the ocelot in Texas include bobcats, cougars, coyotes, American alligators and humans while mainly kitten ocelots are potentially vulnerable to large raptors such as great horned owls, feral dogs, feral pigs, pit vipers and other snakes. Studies have found that adult ocelots are vulnerable to predation by both cougars and jaguars, with decreasing water sources in Guatemala causing predatory encounters with the latter.


title: Ocelot

text: Ocelots have been observed to follow scent trails to acquire prey. They walk slowly at a speed of about searching for prey. Alternatively, an ocelot may wait for prey for 30 to 60 minutes at a certain site, and move to another walking at if unsuccessful. An ocelot typically prefers hunting in areas with vegetation cover, avoiding open areas, especially on moonlit nights, so as not to be seen by the prey. As a carnivore, it preys on small terrestrial mammals such as rodents, lagomorphs, armadillos, opossums, and also fish, crustaceans, insects, reptiles and small birds. It usually feeds on the kill immediately, but removes bird feathers before. It typically preys on animals that weigh less than , but rarely targets large ungulates such as deer and sheep, and peccaries, as well as anteaters, monkeys, iguanas. It requires of food every day to satisfy its energy requirements.


title: Ocelot

text: Primates prevail in the diet of ocelots in southeastern Brazil, and iguanas in a tropical deciduous forest in Mexico. The composition of the diet varies by season; in Venezuela, ocelots were found to prefer iguanas and rodents in the dry season and then switch to land crabs in the wet season. In southeastern Brazil, ocelots have a similar prey preference as margays and oncillas. The oncillas focus on tree-living marsupials and birds while the margays are not as selective.


title: Ocelot

text: Both male and female ocelots produce a long-range "yowl" in the mating season and a short-range "meow".


title: Ocelot

text: Ocelots can mate any time during the year. The peak mating season varies geographically; in Argentina and Paraguay peaks have been observed in autumn, and in Mexico and Texas in autumn and winter. Estrus lasts four to five days, and recurs every 25 days in a non-pregnant female. A study in southern Brazil showed that sperm production in ocelots, margays and oncillas peaks in summer. Captive ocelots spend more time together when mating; both scent-mark extensively and eat less during this time. Breeding ocelots in captivity is often difficult.


title: Ocelot

text: A litter of one to three is born after a gestation period of two to three months. Females give birth in dens, usually located in dense vegetation. A newborn kitten weighs . The kitten is born with spots and stripes, though on a gray background; the color changes to golden as the ocelot grows older. A study in southern Texas revealed that a mother keeps a litter in a den for 13 to 64 days, and shifts the young to two or three dens. The kitten's eyes open 15 to 18 days after birth. Kittens begin to leave the den at the age of three months. They remain with their mother for up to two years, and then start dispersing and establishing their own territory. In comparison to other felids, ocelots have a relatively longer duration between births and a narrow litter size. Captive ocelots live for up to 20 years.


title: Ocelot

text: Throughout its range, the ocelot is threatened by loss and fragmentation of habitat. In Texas, the fertile land that supports dense cover and constitutes the optimum habitat for the ocelot is being lost to agriculture. The habitat is often fragmented into small pockets that cannot support ocelots well, leading to deaths due to starvation. Traffic accidents have emerged as a major threat over the years as ocelots try to expand beyond their natural habitat to new areas and get hit by vehicles. In the Atlantic Forest in northeastern Argentina, it is affected by logging and poaching of prey species.


title: Ocelot

text: The fur trade was a flourishing business in the 1960s and the 1970s that resulted in severe exploitation of felids such as the ocelot and the jaguar. In the 1960s, ocelot skins were among the most highly preferred in the US, reaching an all-time high of 140,000 skins traded in 1970. This was followed by prohibitions on commercial trade of spotted cat skins in several range states such as Brazil and the US, causing ocelot skins in trade to plummet. In 1986, the European Economic Community banned import of ocelot skins, and in 1989, the ocelot was included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. However, hunting of ocelots for skins has continued and is still a major threat to ocelot survival.


title: Ocelot

text: Another threat has been the international pet trade; this typically involves capturing ocelot kittens by killing their mothers; these cats are then sold to tourists. Though it is banned in several countries, pet trade survives; in some areas of Central and South America ocelots are still sold in a few local markets.


title: Ocelot

text: The ocelot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution in the Americas. Ocelot hunting is banned in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela; hunting is regulated in Peru. As of 2013, the global population was estimated at more than 40,000 mature individuals. Ocelot populations were stable in some Amazon basin areas as of 2013.


title: Ocelot

text: As of 2012, the ocelot population in Argentina's subtropical regions was estimated to consist of 1,500 to 8,000 mature individuals. It has been recorded in oil palm landscapes and big cattle ranches in the Colombian Llanos and inter-Andean valleys.


title: Ocelot

text: In Texas and northeastern Mexico, ocelot populations have reduced drastically; as of 2014, the population in Texas is estimated to be 50–80 individuals. The reduced numbers have led to increased inbreeding and low genetic diversity. Despite this, the US Fish and Wildlife Service failed to acknowledge the ocelot population in Texas as a distinct population segment worthy of listing as endangered.


title: Ocelot

text: The US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and The Nature Conservancy are among agencies actively involved in ocelot conservation efforts, such as the protection and regeneration of vegetation in the Rio Grande Valley. NatureServe considers the ocelot "Apparently Secure" globally, but "Critically Imperiled" in both Texas and Arizona.


title: Ocelot

text: The American Zoo and Aquarium Association established a Species Survival Plan for the ocelot populations in Brazil. In 2006, the captive population in North American zoos consisted of 16 ocelots representing six founders and their offspring. Some litters were produced using artificial insemination.


title: Ocelot

text: Ocelots have been associated with humans since the time of the Aztec and Incan civilizations, who depicted ocelots in their art and mythology. Representations of ocelots appear in every artistic medium, from Moche ceramics to murals, architectural details, and landscape features. Ocelot bones were made into thin, pointed instruments to pierce ears and limbs for ritual bloodletting. Several figurines depicting ocelots and similar felids are known. In her 1904 work "A Penitential Rite of the Ancient Mexicans", archaeologist Zelia Nuttall described a statue depicting an ocelot or another felid excavated in Mexico City and its relation to the Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca. She argued that the sculpture depicted an ocelot, writing,


title: Ocelot

text: Like many other felids, occasionally ocelots are kept as pets. They might demand a lot of attention from their owners and have a tendency to chew on or suck on objects, such as fabric and the fingers of their owners; this can lead them to accidentally ingest objects such as tennis balls. Agile and playful, pet ocelots can be troublesome to keep due to their habit of leaping around and potentially damaging objects; ocelots may unintentionally injure their owners with bites. Nevertheless, carefully raised ocelots can be highly affectionate.


title: Ocelot

text: Painter Salvador Dalí kept a pet ocelot named Babou that was seen with him at many places he visited, including a voyage aboard SS "France". When one of the diners at a New York restaurant was alarmed by his ocelot, Dali told her that it was a common domestic cat that he had "painted over in an op art design". Opera singer Lily Pons and musician Gram Parsons are also known to have kept ocelots.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte; the stadium also serves as the team's home field. The Panthers are supported throughout the Carolinas; although the team has played its home games in Charlotte since 1996, they played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina during its first season. The team hosts its annual training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Along with the New England Patriots, it is one of only two teams representing multiple states.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers were announced as the league's 29th franchise in 1993 and began playing in 1995 under the original owner and founder Jerry Richardson. The Panthers played well in their first two years, finishing in 1995 (an all-time best for an NFL expansion team's first season) and 12–4 the following year, winning the NFC West before ultimately losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. They did not have another winning season until 2003 when they won the NFC Championship Game and reached Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing 32–29 to the New England Patriots. After recording playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008, the team failed to record another playoff appearance until 2013, the first of three consecutive NFC South titles. After losing in the divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers in 2013 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, the Panthers returned to the Super Bowl in 2015 but lost to the Denver Broncos. Since then, the team has appeared in the playoffs only once, in 2017. The team's five NFC South titles since the division's establishment in 2002 rank second only to the New Orleans Saints.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: As of 2022, the Carolina Panthers remain the newest club in the NFC. The franchise is legally registered as Panther Football, LLC. and are controlled by David Tepper, whose purchase of the team from founder Jerry Richardson was unanimously approved by league owners on May 22, 2018. The club is worth approximately US$2.3 billion, according to "Forbes".


title: Carolina Panthers

text: On December 15, 1987, entrepreneur Jerry Richardson announced his bid for an NFL expansion franchise in the Carolinas. A North Carolina native, Richardson was a former wide receiver on the Baltimore Colts who had used his 1959 league championship bonus to co-found the Hardee's restaurant chain, later becoming president and CEO of TW Services. Richardson drew his inspiration to pursue an NFL franchise from George Shinn, who had made a successful bid for an expansion National Basketball Association (NBA) team in Charlotte, the Charlotte Hornets. Richardson founded Richardson Sports, a partnership consisting of himself, his family, and a number of businessmen from North and South Carolina who were also recruited to be limited partners. Richardson looked at four potential locations for a stadium, ultimately choosing uptown Charlotte.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: To highlight the demand for professional football in the Carolinas, Richardson Sports held preseason games around the area from 1989 to 1991. The first two games were held at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, while the third and final game was held at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The matchups were between existing NFL teams. In 1991, the group formally filed an application for the open expansion spot, and on October 26, 1993, the 28 NFL owners unanimously named the Carolina Panthers as the 29th member of the NFL.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers first competed in the 1995 NFL season; they were one of two expansion teams to begin playing that year, the other being the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Panthers were put in the NFC West to increase the size of that division to five teams; there were already two other southeastern teams in the division, the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints. Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was named the first head coach. The team finished its inaugural season , the best performance ever from a first-year expansion team. They performed even better in their second season, finishing with a record and winning the NFC West division, as well as securing a first-round bye. The Panthers beat the defending Super Bowl champions Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round before losing the NFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers. The team managed only a finish in 1997 and slipped to in 1998, leading to Capers' dismissal as head coach.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers hired former San Francisco 49ers head coach George Seifert to replace Capers, and he led the team to an record in 1999. The team finished in 2000 and fell to in 2001, winning their first game but losing their last 15. This performance tied the NFL record for most losses in a single season, and it broke the record held by the winless 1976 Buccaneers for most consecutive losses in a single season (both records have since been broken by the 2008 Lions), leading the Panthers to fire Seifert.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: After the NFL's expansion to 32 teams in 2002, the Panthers were relocated from the NFC West to the newly created NFC South division. The Panthers' rivalries with the Falcons and Saints were maintained, and they would be joined by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New York Giants defensive coordinator John Fox was hired to replace Seifert and led the team to a finish in 2002. Although the team's defense gave up very few yards, ranking the second-best in the NFL in yards conceded, they were hindered by an offense that ranked as the second-worst in the league in yards gained. The Panthers improved to in the 2003 regular season, winning the NFC South and making it to Super Bowl XXXVIII before losing to the New England Patriots, 32–29, in what was immediately hailed by sportswriter Peter King as the "Greatest Super Bowl of all time". King felt the game "was a wonderful championship battle, full of everything that makes football dramatic, draining, enervating, maddening, fantastic, exciting" and praised, among other things, the unpredictability, coaching, and conclusion. The game is still viewed as one of the best Super Bowls of all time, and in the opinion of Charlotte-based NPR reporter Scott Jagow, the Panthers' Super Bowl appearance represented the arrival of Charlotte onto the national scene.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Following a start in 2004, the Panthers rebounded to win six of their last seven games despite losing 14 players for the season due to injury. They lost their last game to New Orleans, finishing the 2004 season at . Had they won the game, the Panthers would have made the playoffs. The team improved to in 2005, finishing second in the division behind Tampa Bay and clinching a playoff berth as a wild-card. In the first round of the playoffs, the Panthers went on the road to face the New York Giants, beating them 23–0 for the NFL's first playoff shutout against a home team since 1980. The following week, they beat Chicago 29–21 on the road, but lost key players Julius Peppers, a defensive end, and DeShaun Foster, a running back, who were both injured during the game. The Panthers were then defeated 34–14 by the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, ending their season. Although the Panthers went into the 2006 season as favorites to win the NFC South and the free agent signing of Keyshawn Johnson, they finished with a disappointing record. The team finished the 2007 season with a record after losing quarterback Jake Delhomme early in the season due to an elbow injury. In 2008, the Panthers rebounded with a regular season record, winning the NFC South and securing a first-round bye. They were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs, losing 33–13 to the eventual NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals after Delhomme turned the ball over six times. Delhomme's struggles carried over into the 2009 season, where he threw 18 interceptions in the first 11 games before breaking a finger in his throwing hand. The Panthers were at a record before Delhomme's season-ending injury, and his backup, Matt Moore, led the team to a finish to the season for an overall record.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: In 2010, after releasing Delhomme in the offseason, the Panthers finished with a league-worst () record; their offense was the worst in the league. John Fox's contract expired after the season ended, and the team did not retain him or his staff.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The team hired Ron Rivera to replace Fox as head coach and drafted Auburn's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. The Panthers opened the 2011 season , but finished with a record, and Newton was awarded the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award after setting the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns from a quarterback (14) in a single season and becoming the first rookie NFL quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards in a single season. He also was the first rookie quarterback to rush for over 500 yards in a single season. After strengthening the defense with future all-pro Luke Kuechly in the 2012 draft, the Panthers again opened the 2012 season poorly, losing five out of their first six games, leading longtime general manager Marty Hurney to be fired in response. The team slid to a record before winning five of their last six games, resulting in a record. This strong finish helped save Rivera's job. The Panthers had a winning season the following year, finishing with a record and winning their third NFC South title and another playoff bye, but they were beaten by the 49ers in the Divisional Round. In 2014, the Panthers opened the season with two wins, but after 12 games, sat at due in part to a seven-game winless streak. A four-game winning streak to end the season secured the team their second consecutive NFC South championship and a playoff berth, despite a losing record of . The Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27–16, in the wild card round to advance to the divisional playoffs, where they lost to eventual NFC champion Seattle, 31–17. The 2015 season saw the Panthers start the season and finish the season , which tied for the best regular-season record in NFC history. During the same season, Cam Newton was named NFL MVP. The Panthers also secured their third consecutive NFC South championship, as well as their first overall top-seeded playoff berth. In the 2015–16 playoffs, the Panthers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional playoffs, 31–24, after shutting them out in the first half, 31–0, and the Arizona Cardinals, 49–15, in the NFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl 50, their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2003 season. The Panthers lost a defensive struggle to the AFC champion Denver Broncos, 24–10.In the 2016 season, the Panthers regressed on their 15–1 record from 2015, posting a 6–10 record and a last-place finish in the NFC South, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012, and losing the division title to the second-seeded Falcons, who went on to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LI. In 2017, the Panthers finished with an 11–5 record and a #5 seed. However, they lost to the New Orleans Saints 31–26 in the Wild Card Round, their first loss in that round in franchise history.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: On May 16, 2018, David Tepper, formerly a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, finalized an agreement to purchase the Panthers. The sale price was nearly $2.3 billion, a record. The agreement was approved by the league owners on May 22, 2018. The sale officially closed on July 9, 2018. After starting 6–2, the Panthers finished the 2018 season 7–9. They began the 2019 season 5–3 but lost the last eight games to finish 5–11; late in the season, Tepper fired Rivera as head coach. Perry Fewell finished the season as interim coach, going 0–4.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: On January 7, 2020, the Panthers hired Baylor head coach Matt Rhule as head coach. On January 15, 2020, Luke Kuechly announced his retirement from the league. On March 17, 2020, The Panthers signed Teddy Bridgewater to a three-year $63 million contract. On March 24, the Carolina Panthers released their 2011 1st overall pick and 2015 MVP quarterback Cam Newton. The Panthers had a difficult 2020 season, losing several close games. They would finish 5–11 for the second straight year.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Following the season, the Panthers traded for Sam Darnold from the New York Jets and shipped Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos. On November 11, 2021, the Panthers signed Cam Newton to a one-year deal after Darnold was put on injured reserve. However, the Panthers' struggles continued; despite winning their first three games of the 2021 season, they finished 5–12 and ended the season on a seven-game losing streak.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: After the Panthers began the season with a 1-4 record, Rhule was fired as head coach on October 10, 2022, finishing his tenure with an 11-27 record in two and a half seasons. Steve Wilks was named interim head coach as a result. The Panthers then initiated a rebuild, trading players such as Robbie Anderson and Christian McCaffrey.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The shape of the Panthers logo was designed to mimic the outline of both North Carolina and South Carolina. The Panthers changed their logo and logotype in 2012, the first such change in team history. According to the team, the changes were designed to give their logo an "aggressive, contemporary look" as well as to give it a more three-dimensional feel. The primary tweaks were made in the eye and mouth, where the features, particularly the muscular brow and fangs, are more pronounced, creating a more menacing look. The revised logo has a darker shade of blue over the black logo, compared to the old design, which had a shade similar to teal on top of black.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: By the time they had been announced as the 29th NFL team in October 1993, the Panthers' logo and helmet design had already been finalized, but the uniform design was still under creation. After discussion, the Panthers organization decided on jerseys colored white, black, and blue and pants colored white and silver. The exact tone of blue, which they decided would be "process blue" (a shade lighter than Duke's and darker than North Carolina's), was the most difficult color to choose.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The team's uniform has remained largely the same since its creation, with only minor alterations, such as changing the sock color of the team's black uniforms from blue to black and changing the team's shoes from white to black. Richardson, a self-described traditionalist, said that no major uniform changes would be made in his lifetime.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers have three main jersey colors: black, white, and blue. Their blue jerseys, designated their alternate uniforms, are the newest and were introduced in 2002. NFL regulations allow the team to use the blue jersey up to two times in any given season. In all other games, the team must wear either their white or black jerseys; in NFL games, the home team decides whether to wear a dark or white jersey, while the away team wears the opposite. Usually the Panthers opt for white or blue when the weather is expected to be hot and for black when the weather is expected to be cold.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers typically pair their white jerseys with white pants and blue socks, while the black and blue jerseys are paired with silver pants and black socks; there have only been a few exceptions to these combinations.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The first such instance was in 1998 when the team paired their white jerseys with silver pants in a game against the Indianapolis Colts. The second instance was in 2012 during a game against the Denver Broncos when they paired their black jerseys with new black pants; this created an all-black uniform, with the exception of blue socks and silver helmets. The decision to wear blue socks was made by team captain Steve Smith, who felt the blue socks gave the uniforms a more distinct appearance compared with other teams that have all-black uniforms. The all-black uniforms won the "Greatest Uniform in NFL History" contest, a fan-voted contest run by NFL.com in July 2013. In July 2013, the team's equipment manager, Jackie Miles, said the Panthers intended to use the all-black uniform more in the future. The Panthers wore the all-black uniform three times the following season, once each in the preseason and regular season, and the third time during the home divisional round playoff game vs the 49ers. During the Panthers' 2015 Thanksgiving Day game against the Dallas Cowboys, they debuted an all-blue uniform as part of Nike's "Color Rush" series.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The team's uniform did not change significantly after Nike became the NFL's jersey supplier in 2012, but the collar was altered to honor former Panthers player and coach Sam Mills by featuring the phrase "Keep Pounding". Nike had conceived the idea, and the team supported the concept as a way to expose newer fans to the legacy of Mills, who died of cancer in 2005. Mills had introduced the phrase, which has since become a team slogan, in a speech that he gave to the players and coaches prior to their 2003 playoff game against Dallas; in the speech, Mills compared his fight against cancer with the team's on-field battle, saying "When I found out I had cancer, there were two things I could do – quit or keep pounding. I'm a fighter. I kept pounding. You're fighters, too. Keep pounding!"


title: Carolina Panthers

text: In 2019, the Panthers unveiled new uniforms. The new uniforms are Nike's "Vapor Untouchable" and have only minor differences: the tapered strips on the pants are replaced by stripes that extend down to the socks, the reflective shoulder cloth was replaced and the hip logos were also removed. The uniforms keep the same basic look, colors, and numbers as the originals. As the 2019 season was the team's 25th, the Panthers sported a 25th-anniversary patch on their uniforms. In the 2019 season, the Panthers continued to use the new pant-jersey color combinations from 2018 while bringing back the silver pants with their black jerseys.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: In Week 9 of the 2021 season, the Panthers wore black jerseys with white pants for the first time in a home game against the Patriots. Then in Week 17 against the Saints, the Panthers wore an all-white set (white jerseys, white pants, and white socks) for the first time.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Starting in 2022, the Panthers added an alternate black helmet to be paired with the all-black uniform set. In Week 7 against the Buccaneers, the Panthers added a new combination featuring white jerseys, black pants, and white socks.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers played their first season at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, as their facility in uptown Charlotte was still under construction. Ericsson Stadium, called Bank of America Stadium since 2004, opened in the summer of 1996. The stadium was specially designed by HOK Sports Facilities Group for football and also serves as the headquarters and administrative offices of the Panthers. On some days, the stadium offers public tours for a fee. Private tours for groups are offered for a fee seven days a week, though there are some exceptions, and such tours must be arranged in advance.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Two bronze panther statues flank each of the stadium's three main entrances; they are the largest sculptures ever commissioned in the United States. The names of the team's original PSL owners are engraved on the base of each statue. The first two people in the Panthers Hall of Honor, team executive Mike McCormack and linebacker Sam Mills, are honored with life-sized bronze statues outside the stadium. Mills, in addition to being the only player in the Hall of Honor for over 20 years, is the only player to have had his jersey number (#51) retired by the Panthers .


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers have three open-air fields next to Bank of America Stadium where they currently hold their practices; during the 1995 season, when the team played their home games in South Carolina, the team held their practices at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Because the practice fields, along with the stadium, are located in uptown Charlotte, the fields are directly visible from skyscrapers as well as from a four-story condominium located across the street. According to Mike Cranston, a running joke said that the Panthers' division rivals had pooled their resources to purchase a room on the building's top floor and that a fire at the condominium was caused by the Panthers organization. In order to prevent people from seeing inside the field while the team is practicing, the team has added "strategically planted trees and a tarp over the ... fence surrounding the fields". Additionally, they employ a security team to watch for and chase away any people who stop alongside the fence surrounding the field. In the event of bad weather, the team moves their practices to an indoor sports facility about from the stadium. The team does not own this facility. The Panthers have hosted their annual training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, since 1995.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers were planning on building a $1 billion team headquarters and training facility on a in Rock Hill, South Carolina, nicknamed "The Rock". After six months of discussions and state approval of $115 million in incentives, the formal announcement of the team's plan for a new practice facility came on June 5, 2019. Rock Hill mayor John Gettys described the project at that time as the biggest in the city's history. Groundbreaking took place in July 2019, and it was expected to be completed by summer 2023. The agreement with Rock Hill, however, ended up being terminated on April 19, 2022, with owner David Tepper filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers are supported in both North Carolina and South Carolina; South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley declared July 30, 2012, "Carolina Panthers Day" in her state, saying that "when it comes to professional teams, the Carolina Panthers are the team that South Carolina calls their own". During the 2016 NFC Championship and Super Bowl, the hashtag #OneCarolina was used by college and professional sports teams from North Carolina and South Carolina to show unified support for the Panthers.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com observed in 2012 that while there is "a bit of a wine-and-cheese atmosphere at Panthers games ... there is a strong core of die-hard fans who bring energy to Bank of America Stadium. Charlotte lives and dies with the Panthers because there aren't a lot of other options in the sports world". "Sports Illustrated" graded the Panthers as having the 10th highest "NFL Fan Value Experience" in 2007, attributing much of the fan atmosphere to the team's newness when compared to the established basketball fanbase. They also observed that the stadium has scattered parking lots, each of which has a different tailgating style. Some have fried chicken, pork, or Carolina-style barbecue, while others have live bands and televisions. Pickup football games in the parking lots are common.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Carolina Panthers have sold out all home games since December 2002, and their home attendance has ranked in the NFL's top ten since 2006.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Sir Purr, an anthropomorphic black panther who wears a jersey numbered '00', has been the Panthers' mascot since their first season. During games, Sir Purr provides sideline entertainment through skits and "silly antics". The mascot participates in a number of community events year-round, including a monthly visit to the patients at Levine Children's Hospital. Sir Purr also hosts the annual Mascot Bowl, an event which pits pro and college mascots against each other during halftime at a selected Panthers home game.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The team's cheerleaders are the Carolina Topcats who lead cheers and entertain fans at home games. The TopCats participate in both corporate and charity events. In March 2022, the Carolina Topcats became the first NFL cheerleading team to have a transgender member, Justine Lindsay. The team's drumline is PurrCussion, an ensemble of snare, tenor, and bass drummers as well as cymbal players. PurrCussion performs for fans outside the stadium and introduces players prior to home games; it consists of drummers from across the Carolinas.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Starting with the 2012 season, the Panthers introduced the Keep Pounding Drum, inspired by the aforementioned motivational speech by Sam Mills before the team's 2004 playoff game against the Cowboys. Prior to each home game, an honorary drummer hits the six-foot-tall drum four times to signify the four quarters of an American football game. According to the team, the drummers "come from a variety of backgrounds and occupations, but all have overcome a great trial or adversity that has not only made them strong but also pushes them to make others around them stronger". Drummers have included current and former Panthers players, military veterans, Make-A-Wish children, and athletes from other sports, including NBA MVP and Charlotte native Stephen Curry, US women's national soccer team players Whitney Engen and Heather O'Reilly, and 7 time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: During the inaugural season of the Panthers, the team had an official fight song, which the team played before each home game. The song, "Stand and Cheer", remains the team's official fight song, but the team does not typically play it before home games. Due to negative fan reaction "Stand and Cheer" was pulled in 1999. Since 2006, the song has returned. The team plays Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" after home victories.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: A "keep pounding" chant was introduced during the 2012 season which starts before the opening kickoff of each home game. As prompted by the video boards, one side of the stadium shouts "keep" and the other side replies with "pounding". The chant is similar to ones that take place at college football games.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Carolina Panthers support a variety of non-profits in North and South Carolina through the Carolina Panthers Charities. Four annual scholarships are awarded to student athletes through the Carolina Panthers Graduate Scholarship and the Carolina Panthers Players Sam Mills Memorial Scholarship programs. Carolina Panthers Charities also offers grants to non-profits that support education, athletics, and human services in the community. The Panthers and Fisher Athletic have provided six equipment grants to high school football teams in the Carolinas each year since 2010. Carolina Panthers Charities raises funds at three annual benefits: the Countdown to Kickoff Luncheon, the team's first public event each season; Football 101, an educational workshop for fans; and the Weekend Warrior Flag Football Tournament, a two-day non-contact flag football tournament. Another annual benefit is Taste of the Panthers, a gourmet food tasting which raises funds for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: In 2003 the Panthers and Carolinas HealthCare Foundation established the Keep Pounding Fund, a fundraising initiative to support cancer research and patient support programs. The Panthers community has raised more than $1.4 million for the fund through direct donations, charity auctions, blood drives, and an annual 5k stadium run. The Panthers and Levine Children's Hospital coordinate monthly hospital visits and VIP game-day experiences for terminally ill or hospitalized children.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: In addition to these team-specific efforts, the Panthers participate in a number of regular initiatives promoted by the NFL and USA Football, the league's youth football development partner. These include USA Football Month, held throughout August to encourage and promote youth football; A Crucial Catch, the league's Breast Cancer Awareness Month program; Salute to Service, held throughout November to support military families and personnel; and PLAY 60, which encourages young NFL fans to be active for at least 60 minutes each day.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Radio coverage is provided by flagship station WRFX and through the Carolina Panthers Radio Network, with affiliates throughout the Carolinas and Virginia. The Panthers' radio broadcasting team is led by play-by-play voice Anish Shroff, with Jake Delhomme as color analyst, and WBT sports director Jim Szoke as studio host. The radio network broadcasts pre-game coverage, games with commentary, and post-game wrap-ups. It also live-broadcasts "Panther Talk", a weekly event at Bank of America Stadium which offers fans a chance to meet a player and ask questions of the staff.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: National broadcasting and cable television networks cover regular-season games, as well as some preseason games. Locally, Fox affiliate WJZY airs most regular-season games, while home games against an AFC team typically air on CBS affiliate WBTV. Any appearances on Monday Night Football are simulcast on ABC affiliate WSOC-TV, while any appearances on Thursday Night Football are simulcast on WSOC. Sunday night and some Thursday night games are aired on NBC affiliate WCNC-TV.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: All preseason games and team specials are televised by the Carolina Panthers Television Network on flagship station WSOC-TV in Charlotte and fourteen affiliate stations throughout the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee. WSOC took over as the Panthers' television partner for the 2019 season, replacing longtime television partner WCCB, which had retained this role after losing the Fox affiliation to WJZY in 2013. As of 2021, the preseason television broadcasting team consists of play-by-play commentator Taylor Zarzour, color analyst and former Panthers player Steve Smith, and sideline reporter Kristen Balboni. The network also hosts "The Panthers Huddle", a weekly show focusing on the Panthers' upcoming opponent.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers also offer game broadcasts in Spanish throughout both Carolinas and Mexico, with Jaime Moreno and Toño Ramos providing commentary.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers have developed heated rivalries with the three fellow members of the NFC South (the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New Orleans Saints). The team's fiercest rivals are the Falcons and Buccaneers.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Falcons are a natural geographic rival for the Panthers, as Atlanta is only south on I-85. The two teams have played each other twice a year since the Panthers' inception, and games between the two teams feature large contingents of Panthers fans at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium and large contingents of Falcons fans at Bank of America Stadium.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Panthers' rivalry with Tampa Bay has been described as the most intense in the NFC South. The rivalry originated in 2002 with the formation of the NFC South, but became particularly heated before the 2003 season with verbal bouts between players on the two teams. It escalated further when the Panthers went to Tampa Bay and beat them in what ESPN.com writer Pat Yasinskas described as "one of the most physical contests in recent memory". The rivalry has resulted in a number of severe injuries for players on both teams, some of which were caused by foul play. One of these plays, an illegal hit on Tampa Bay punt returner Clifton Smith, sparked a brief melee between the teams in 2009.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor was established in 1997 to honor individuals for their contributions to the Carolina Panthers organization.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which "honor[s] individuals who have made outstanding contributions to professional football", are determined by a 46-member selection committee. At least 80% of voters must approve the nominee for him to be inducted.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Jerry Richardson was the founder and first owner of the Carolina Panthers. Richardson and his family owned about 48% of the team, with the remaining 52% owned by a group of 14 limited partners. Richardson and the other investors paid $206 million for the rights to start the team in 1993.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Mike McCormack, a Hall of Fame lineman for the Cleveland Browns and former coach and executive for the Seattle Seahawks, was the Panthers' first team president, presiding in that role from 1994 until his retirement in 1997; McCormack was inducted as the first person in the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor later that year. Jerry Richardson's son, Mark, was appointed as the team's second president in 1997 and served in that role until he stepped down in 2009. His brother Jon, who had been president of Bank of America Stadium, stepped down at the same time. The resignations of Mark and Jon Richardson were unexpected, as it was thought that the two would eventually take over the team from their father. Mark Richardson was replaced by Danny Morrison, who had previously served as the athletic director of both Texas Christian University and Wofford College, Richardson's alma mater. Morrison resigned in early 2017. The role was vacant until August 2018, when Tom Glick was hired as team president. He had previously served as the COO of Manchester City.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: On May 16, 2018, David Tepper, formerly a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, finalized an agreement to purchase the Carolina Panthers, for nearly $2.3 billion, a record at the time. The agreement was approved by the league owners on May 22, 2018. According to "Forbes", the Panthers are worth approximately $2.3 billion . They ranked the Carolina Panthers as the 21st-most valuable NFL team and the 36th-most valuable sports team in the world.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: The Carolina Panthers have had six head coaches. Dom Capers was the head coach from 1995 to 1998 and led the team to one playoff appearance. Counting playoff games, he finished with a record of 31–35 (.470). George Seifert coached the team from 1999 to 2001, recording 16 wins and 32 losses (.333). John Fox, the team's longest-tenured head coach, led the team from 2002 to 2010 and coached the team to three playoff appearances including Super Bowl XXXVIII which the Panthers lost. Including playoff games, Fox ended his tenure with a 78–74 (.513) record, making him the first Panthers coach to finish his tenure with the team with a winning record. Ron Rivera held the position from 2011 to 2019 and led the team to four playoff appearances including Super Bowl 50. Counting playoff games, he has a career record of 79–67–1 (.541). Statistically, Rivera holds the highest winning percentage of any Panthers head coach. On December 3, 2019, following a home loss against the Washington Redskins that sent the team's record to 5–7, Rivera was fired by David Tepper. Perry Fewell, then the defensive backs coach for the team, was named interim head coach the same day. On January 7, 2020, Matt Rhule was hired to be the Panthers head coach. Rhule was fired during his third season, with Steve Wilks taking over on an interim basis.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Since they began playing football in 1995, the Panthers have been to four NFC Championship Games; they lost two (1996 and 2005) and won two (2003 and 2015). The Panthers have won six division championships: the NFC West championship in 1996 and the NFC South championship in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2014, and 2015. They have finished as runners-up in their division six times, finishing second-place in the NFC West in 1997 and 1999 and finishing second-place in the NFC South in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2012. They have qualified for the playoffs 8 times, most recently in 2017.


title: Carolina Panthers

text: Kicker John Kasay is the team's career points leader. Kasay scored 1,482 points during his 16 seasons (1995–2010) with the Panthers. Quarterback Cam Newton is the Panthers' career passing leader; he threw for 29,041 yards over his nine seasons with the team (2011–2020). Running back Jonathan Stewart is the career rushing leader for the Carolina Panthers. Stewart, during his tenure with the team (2008–2018), rushed for 6,868 yards with the Panthers. Wide receiver Steve Smith, the team's leading receiver, recorded 12,197 receiving yards during his 13-year (2001–2013) tenure with the team.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on "The Chris Rock Show", for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, "Entertainment Weekly" named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is also known for her roles on CBS' "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2006–10), HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2001–present), and ABC's "Black-ish" (2015–present). She currently stars in the Netflix original series "The Upshaws" which premiered on May 12, 2021, with Kim Fields and Mike Epps, and has appeared in the HBO Max comedy series "The Other Two", as well as playing Allegra Durado, a new, powerful, and "messy"-brained partner in a legal firm on Paramount+'s acclaimed "The Good Fight."


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Aside from her television appearances, Sykes has also had a career in film, appearing in "Monster-in-Law" (2005), "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" (2006), "Evan Almighty" (2007), and "License to Wed" (2007), as well as voicing characters in animated films such as "Over the Hedge", "Barnyard", "Brother Bear 2" (all in 2006), "Rio" (2011), the subsequent films of the "Ice Age" franchise (2012-2016), and "UglyDolls" (2019).


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Wanda Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. Her family moved to Maryland when she was in third grade. Her mother, Marion Louise (née Peoples), worked as a banker, and her father, Harry Ellsworth Sykes, was a U.S. Army colonel employed at the Pentagon. She has an older brother, Harry.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Sykes' family history was researched for an episode of the 2012 PBS genealogy program "Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr." Her ancestry was traced back to a 1683 court case involving her ancestor, Elizabeth Banks, a free white woman and indentured servant, who gave birth to a biracial child, Mary Banks, fathered by a slave, who inherited her mother's free status. According to historian Ira Berlin, a specialist in the history of American slavery, the Sykes family history is "the only such case that I know of in which it is possible to trace a black family rooted in freedom from the late 17th century to the present."


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Sykes attended Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland, and went on to graduate from Hampton University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. After college, her first job was as a contracting specialist at the National Security Agency, where she worked for five years.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Following a role with the National Security Agency (NSA), Sykes began her stand-up career at a Coors Light Super Talent Showcase in Washington, DC, where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience in 1987.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: She continued to perform at local venues while at the NSA until 1992, when she moved to New York City. One of her early TV appearances was Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam in the early 1990s, where she shared the stage with Adele Givens, J. B. Smoove, D. L. Hughley, Bernie Mac, & Bill Bellamy. Working for the Hal Leonard publishing house, she edited a book entitled "Polyrhythms – The Musician's Guide", by Peter Magadini.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In 1997, she joined the writing team on "The Chris Rock Show" and also made many appearances on the show. The writing team was nominated for four Emmys, and in 1999, won for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Since that time, she has appeared in the films "Pootie Tang" and on TV shows such as "Curb Your Enthusiasm". In 2003, she starred in her own short-lived Fox network sitcom, "Wanda at Large". The same year, Sykes appeared in an hour-long Comedy Central special, "Tongue Untied". That network also ranked her No. 70 on its list of the 100 greatest all-time stand ups. She served as a correspondent for HBO's "Inside the NFL", hosted Comedy Central's popular show "Premium Blend", and voiced a recurring character named Gladys on Comedy Central's puppet show "Crank Yankers". She also had a short-lived show on Comedy Central called "Wanda Does It".


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In addition to her film and television work, she is also an author. She wrote "Yeah, I Said It", a book of humorous observations on various topics, published in September 2004.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In 2006, she landed a recurring role as Barb, opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus, on the sitcom "The New Adventures of Old Christine"; she became a series regular during the series' third season in 2008. She also guest starred in the "Will & Grace" episode "Buy, Buy Baby" in 2006. She provided voices for the 2006 films "Over the Hedge", "Barnyard", and "Brother Bear 2". She had a part in "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" and after playing in "Evan Almighty", had a bit part in "License to Wed". Sykes's first HBO Comedy Special, entitled "Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired", premiered on October 14, 2006; it was nominated for a 2007 Emmy Award. In 2008, she performed as part of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour for LGBT rights.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In October 2008, Sykes appeared in a television ad for the Think Before You Speak Campaign, an advertising campaign by GLSEN aimed at curbing homophobic slang in youth communities. In the 30-second spot, she uses humor to scold a teenager for saying "that's so gay" when he really means "that is so bad".


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In March 2009, Sykes became the host of a late-night talk show on Saturdays on "Fox", "The Wanda Sykes Show" which was scheduled to premiere November 7, 2009. In April 2009, she was named in "Out" magazine's "Annual Power 50 List", landing at number 35.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In May 2009, Sykes was the featured entertainer for the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, becoming both the first African American woman and the first openly LGBT person to get the role. Cedric the Entertainer had been the first African American to become the featured entertainer in 2005. At this event, Sykes made controversial headlines as she responded to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's comments regarding President Barack Obama. Limbaugh, in reference to Obama's presidential agenda, had said "I hope he fails". In response, Sykes quipped: "I hope his [Limbaugh's] kidneys fail, how 'bout that? Needs a little waterboarding, that's what he needs."


title: Wanda Sykes

text: November 2009 saw the premier of "The Wanda Sykes Show", which starts with a monologue and continues with a panel discussion in a similar format to Bill Maher's shows "Real Time with Bill Maher" and "Politically Incorrect".


title: Wanda Sykes

text: She appeared as Miss Hannigan in a professional theatre production of "Annie" at The Media Theatre in Media, PA, a suburb southwest of Philadelphia. Her first appearance in a musical, she played the role from November 23 to December 12, 2010, and again from January 12 to 23, 2011. She voices the Witch in the "Bubble Guppies" episode "Bubble Puppy's Fin-tastic Fairlytale Adventure".


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In 2012, Sykes played the role of Granny in Blue Sky Studios' "". In 2016, she returned to the role in "".


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In May 2013, Sykes was a featured entertainer at Olivia Travel's 40th anniversary Music & Comedy Festival in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In 2013, Sykes appeared in eight episodes of Amazon's "Alpha House", a political comedy series written by "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau. Sykes plays Rosalyn DuPeche, a Democratic Senator from Illinois and the next door neighbor of four Republican senators living together in a house on Capitol Hill. Sykes also appeared in Season Two, which became available in October 2014. The series was canceled after the second season.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In 2018, Sykes became the head writer for the revived tenth season of "Roseanne". This attracted attention due to Roseanne's far-right and conspiratorial views. On May 29, 2018, Sykes announced on Twitter that she would no longer be working on the series after a since-deleted Twitter rant by Roseanne Barr about Valerie Jarrett.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: In 2021, Sykes began starring on the Netflix sitcom "The Upshaws". Sykes co-hosted the 94th Academy Awards with Regina Hall and Amy Schumer on March 27, 2022.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Sykes was married to record producer Dave Hall from 1991 to 1998. In November 2008, she publicly came out as a lesbian while at a same-sex marriage rally in Las Vegas regarding Proposition 8. A month earlier, Sykes married her wife Alex Niedbalski, a French woman, whom she met in 2006. The couple also became parents in April 2009, when Niedbalski gave birth to a pair of fraternal twins, a daughter and a son, named Olivia and Lucas.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Sykes only came out to her conservative mother Marion and father Harry when she was 40, who both initially had difficulty accepting her homosexuality. They declined to attend her wedding with Alex, which led to a brief period of estrangement; they have since reconciled with Sykes.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: During a September 19, 2011, appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", Sykes announced that she had been diagnosed earlier in the year with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Although DCIS is a non-invasive "stage zero breast cancer", Sykes had elected to have a bilateral mastectomy in order to lower her chances of getting breast cancer. Sykes splits time between Media, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, and Cherry Grove, New York.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Sykes publicly expressed being devastated when California voters passed state Proposition 8. She said: "with the legislation that they passed, I can’t sit by and just watch. I just can’t do it." She has continued to be active in same-sex marriage issues hosting events and emceeing fundraisers. She has also worked with PETA on promoting dog anti-chaining legislation in her home state.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: She has been an outspoken supporter of Detroit's Ruth Ellis Center after the organization's staff sent Sykes a letter asking her to visit during her 2010 tour's stop in Detroit.


title: Wanda Sykes

text: Sykes has been nominated for fourteen Primetime Emmys, with one win (in 1999) for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music or Program." In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for "Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic." She won a Comedy Central Commie Award for "Funniest TV Actress" in 2003. In 2010 she won the GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award. In 2015 she won the Activism in the Arts honor at the Triumph Awards.


title: Married at First Sight (American TV series)

text: Married at First Sight is an American reality television series that first aired on July 8, 2014, on FYI (and later, Lifetime).


text: The series is based on a Danish series titled "" that first aired on September 4, 2013, on DR3. The original Danish series format has been sold to broadcasters throughout the world.