short biography on Stephen Hawking
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Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author, who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge at the time of his death.[16][17] He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009.
Born
Stephen William Hawking
8 January 1942
Oxford, England
Died
14 March 2018 (aged 76)
Cambridge, England
Resting place
Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London[1]
Education
St Albans School, Hertfordshire
Alma mater
University of Oxford (BA)
University of Cambridge (MA, PhD)
Known for
Hawking radiation
A Brief History of Time
Penrose–Hawking theorems
Bekenstein–Hawking formula
Hawking energy
Gibbons–Hawking ansatz
Gibbons–Hawking effect
Gibbons–Hawking space
Gibbons–Hawking–York boundary term
Thorne–Hawking–Preskill bet
Spouse(s)
Jane Wilde
(m. 1965; div. 1995)
Elaine Mason
(m. 1995; div. 2006)
Children
3, including Lucy Hawking
Awards
Adams Prize (1966)
Eddington Medal (1975)
Maxwell Medal and Prize (1976)
Heineman Prize (1976)
Hughes Medal (1976)
Albert Einstein Award (1978)
RAS Gold Medal (1985)
Dirac Medal (1987)
Wolf Prize (1988)
Prince of Asturias Award (1989)
Andrew Gemant Award (1998)
Naylor Prize and Lectureship (1999)
Lilienfeld Prize (1999)
Albert Medal (1999)
Copley Medal (2006)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009)
Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2012)
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2015)
Scientific career
Fields
General relativity
Quantum gravity
Institutions
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
California Institute of Technology
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Thesis
Properties of Expanding Universes (1966)
Doctoral advisor
Dennis Sciama[2]
Other academic advisors
Robert Berman[3]
Doctoral students
Bruce Allen[2][4]
Raphael Bousso[2][5]
Bernard Carr[2][6]
Fay Dowker[2][7]
Christophe Galfard[8]
Gary Gibbons[2][9]
Thomas Hertog[2][10]
Raymond Laflamme[2][11]
Don Page[2][12]
Malcolm Perry[2][13]
Marika Taylor[2][14]
Alan Yuille
Wu Zhongchao[2][15]
29 others[2]
Website
hawking.org.uk
Hawkingsig.svg
His scientific works included a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He was a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.[18][19]
Hawking achieved commercial success with several works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general. His book A Brief History of Time appeared on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Hawking was a fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. In 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. Hawking had a rare early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis "ALS" or Lou Gehrig's disease) that gradually paralysed him over the decades.[20][21] Even after the loss of his speech, he was still able to communicate through a speech-generating device, initially through use of a hand-held switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle. He died on 14 March 2018 at the age of 76.[22][23]