Launch of Stephen Hawking Programme
On 29 November, the Science Museum in London was the location for the launch of a campaign to celebrate and memorialise the life of Stephen Hawking through a programme of teaching, research and outreach. More than 400 people gathered to hear remarks from Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, from members of Stephen’s family, and from distinguished researchers including the CTC’s own Blake Sherwin (right).
Stephen Hawking’s scientific insights changed our perception of the Universe and he was passionate about communicating these, especially to young people, and about inspiring them into science-related education and careers. The event on 29 November featured talks from distinguished Cambridge academics on their own journeys into science and their thoughts on how to inspire interest among the next generation.
Maria Ubiali
As well as Blake Sherwin, there were talks from Lucasian Professor of Mathematics Mike Cates, particle phenomenologist Maria Ubiali, and Winton Advanced Fellow Alpha Lee. These were followed by an audience Q&A and remarks from Stephen Hawking’s children, Lucy and Robert.
The centrepiece of the evening was the Vice-Chancellor’s announcement of the Stephen Hawking Programme, which will offer highly prestigious academic appointments, fellowships and studentships in the fields of cosmology, astronomy, theoretical physics and mathematics, aimed at attracting the very best candidates from around the world. Our goal is to establish the Programme in perpetuity through endowments, inspired by Professor Hawking’s own broad research interests and his public outreach activity, so an integral component will be an annual Hawking Symposium aimed at non-specialist and young audiences in particular.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen Toope
The Stephen Hawking Programme will be highly complementary to the work of the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, which he founded in 2007. You can learn more about CTC’s five-year plan to help establish Stephen Hawking’s scientific vision in Cambridge here:
http://www.ctc.cam.ac.uk/supporters/strategy.php
The University is currently developing a comprehensive website to describe the Stephen Hawking Programme, which will be hosted and updated at the following link:
https://www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-cambridge/stephen-hawking-programme
Pictures credit: Campaign Community
Mike Cates, Alpha Lee, Maria Ubiali, Blake Sherwin and Stephen Toope. Picture credit: Campaign Community
