STEPHEN HAWKING
If you want to learn more about Stephen Hawking then the official website www.hawking.org.uk will tell you more about his early life, his undergraduate studies in Oxford and then his doctorate, research and Lucasian Professorship in Cambridge, where he continues to actively pursue scientific and outreach goals. A prolific author, Hawking has authored or co-authored fourteen books, ranging from technical science to popular science, as well as a series of children’s books written with his daughter, Lucy.
Science Museum
In order to celebrate Professor Hawking’s 70th birthday, the Science Museum in London is hosting a display of items from Professor Hawking’s remarkable career.
The display includes items primarily sourced from his own archives, including handwritten notes from his work with long-time collaborator Roger Penrose and an annotated script from his 1999 guest appearance on The Simpsons. Items such as the blue suit which he was wearing during his zero-gravity flight in 2007 and the 1978 portrait by British artist David Hockney will also be on display.
The display, the first ever of items from the Hawking archive, features a specially recorded message from Professor Hawking, who along with his daughter, Lucy, was involved with the selection of objects on display. The exhibition allows visitors to consider Hawking’s important contributions not only to the advancement of cosmology and theoretical physics, but also his achievements in popularising science.
The display, which opened on 20 January, will run until 9 April 2012.
For further information, please click here.
Centre for Theoretical Cosmology (CTC)
The Centre for Theoretical Cosmology (CTC) was established by Professor Stephen Hawking in 2007. It exists to advance the scientific understanding of our Universe, taking forward the vision of its founder. There are two circumstances in which the hidden basic fabric of the Universe is violently shaken and unveiled: in the enormous temperatures and densities of the Hot Big Bang and during the extreme collapse to form a black hole. CTC focuses on mathematical theories of these pivotal physical events, confronting them with observational data to gain new insight into the fundamental structure of the Universe and its origin. As well as supporting fellows and visiting professors, CTC’s activities include hosting timely workshops and international conferences on frontier topics in cosmology.
Relativity and Gravitation Group
The Relativity and Gravitation Group within the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) was started by the late Professor Dennis Sciama in 1961 and is currently headed by Professor Stephen Hawking. It is internationally renowned for a number of important developments in Einstein’s classical theory of gravitation, including the no hair and area theorems for black holes and the theorems indicating that singularities would occur both in gravitational collapse and at the beginning of the expansion of the Universe. In recent years the group’s main effort has been towards the inclusion of quantum effects and the development of a theory of quantum gravity. Furthermore, the group has expertise in the areas of supergravity, string and membrane theories of gravity, cosmology, cosmic strings, the cosmic microwave sky, numerical and discrete relativity.
In addition, the group houses and operates COSMOS, the UK national cosmology supercomputer (below).
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP)
CTC is part of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), one of two Mathematics departments at the University of Cambridge. It is located at the striking Centre of Mathematical Sciences, completed in 2002. DAMTP was first established as a Department of the University of Cambridge in 1959. Although founded relatively recently, research in applied mathematics and theoretical physics has developed in Cambridge over more than 300 years through the great traditions established by the giants of the past, such as Isaac Newton, who held the oldest Professorship in Mathematics, the Lucasian Professorship, from 1669 to 1702. More recently, the Lucasian chair was held by the Nobel Laureate Paul Dirac from 1932 to 1969 and Stephen Hawking from 1979 to 2009. The current Lucasian Professor is Michael Green. DAMTP has a tradition of carrying out research of world-class excellence in a broad range of subjects across applied mathematics and theoretical physics. For further information, please see: www.damtp.cam.ac.uk.
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