Stephen Hawking at 70: Wonder man of science

Tomorrow, January 8, Stephen W. Hawking turns 70 years old. His fellow scientists and physics and cosmology enthusiasts all marvel at how he is still scoring extraordinary achievements and remaining ebulliently brilliant.

This British scientist best known as the author of the landmark book, A Brief History of Time (1985), began losing his capacity to stand firmly on his feet and to speak coherently at age 22. A fellow student at Cambridge thought then that Hawking would not live long enough to finish his PhD degree.

(By the early1970s Hawking could no longer move his body; in 1985 he lost his voice. Since then he has been communicating through computer. His ailment is called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.)

Yet at 32, he was already recognized as outstanding in the field of astrophysics. After publication of his insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe started, he was elected to the Royal Society.

Martin Rees, his fellow student, now the master of Trinity College in Cambridge, recalls that Hawking read a book on quantum field theory — not his field of engagement. After a year, Rees enthuses: “Stephen had his greatest ‘eureka moment’, encapsulated in an equation that he wants on his gravestone. He discovered a profound and unexpected link between gravity and quantum theory that has helped set the agenda for fundamental physics ever since.”

Declaring Hawking the “most famous living scientist,” Rees adds: “He has probably done as much as anyone else since Einstein to extend our grasp of gravity, space and time.”

 A week before his 70th birthday, other Hawking colleagues wrote paeans to him, published in The Observer. Let’s run through them in summation. Ordinary folk as we are and not fully comprehending the scientific concepts they’re talking about, still we cannot miss the infectious enthusiasm in the accolades.

Bernard Carr, University of London math and astronomy professor (Hawking’s PhD student, 1972-75):

“Stephen’s discovery in 1974 that black holes emit thermal radiation due to quantum effects was one of the most important results in 20th century physics. This is because it unifies three previously disparate areas of physics: quantum theory, general relativity, and thermodynamics… Indeed, in matters of physics, I always regarded him as an oracle, just a few words from him yielding insights that would have taken weeks to work out on my own.”

Carr chuckles as he recollects that, reading the draft of A Brief History of Time when he accompanied Hawking in China in 1985, he thought the book would not sell. It has now sold 10 million copies!

In 1996, recalled Raymond Laflamme, executive director, Institute of Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo in Canada, Hawking assigned him to “mathematically confirm his theory that time could reverse in a contracting universe.”

After trying out numerous equations on the blackboard under Hawking’s supervision, Laflamme ended up proving the theory wrong, showing instead that “time indeed marched eternally forward, even when the universe itself does an about-face.” Later, Hawking gave him a copy of his famous book, with this dedication: “To Raymond, who showed me that the arrow of time is not a boomerang. Thank you for all your help. Stephen.”

In 2010, Laflamme invited Hawking to Canada and gifted him with a boomerang, which was accepted with a wide grin.

Said George Ellis, math professor emeritus at University of Cape Town, South Africa and his co-author of “The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time”, paid tribute to Hawking’s extraordinary contributions as being due to “the combination of huge technical ability and imagination, an inquiring mind always searching for answers to important issues, and extraordinary determination and focus… [He has achieved] success in the face of a hugely debilitating physical handicap [that] would have destroyed the will of lesser people.”

Thomas Hertog, theoretical physics professor at KU Leuven in Belgium (Hawking’s student in 1990 and co-author of a paper on “top-down cosmology” in 2006), points out that his teacher’s goal on cosmology is to understand “why the universe is the way it is.” He adds:

“Stephen’s genius lies in the clarity of his scientific vision. Guided by sharp intuition and insight, together with a consistent focus on the core problems and a certain boldness to discard old ideas he regards as an obstacle to progress, he has produced ideas that have a profound impact on theoretical cosmology.

“His quantum cosmology has brought the study of the universe’s origin within the realm of the physical sciences, with the profound questions its study raises. At 70 he remains one of the world’s experts in this domain.”   

Fay Dowker, theoretical physicist at Imperial College in London (another student of Hawking):

“Stephen inspires people with the excitement and importance of pure scientific inquiry, and celebrating his 70th birthday with him gives us a chance to say how much we honor him for it.”

Let us celebrate Stephen Hawking’s life and achievements. Let our youth be inspired by his perseverance to overcome physical debility, his consistent focus on the core problems, and his boldness to let go of old ideas when these deter progress.

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