March 14, 2018

expert reaction to the death of Stephen Hawking

World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76.

Prof Philip Nelson Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Chair of the Research Councils, said:

“Stephen Hawking was a truly remarkable scientist who contributed enormously to our understanding of the universe. The world has lost one of its greatest thinkers. His work, determination and resilience, will continue to be an inspiration to researchers everywhere.”

Prof Christopher Shaw, Head of the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience and Director of the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, said:

“Stephen Hawking was an ‘outliers outlier’, both in terms of his extraordinary contribution to science and the time he survived with motor neuron disease. The experience for most people with MND, sadly is very different, but we are making remarkable progress in understanding disease mechanisms and testing new therapies that I believe will make a positive impact in the near future.”

Prof Ammar Al-Chalabi, Director of the King’s MND Care and Research Centre, King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, said:

“Prof Hawking was inspirational in being defined by his enormous scientific achievements, not his disability. On average, someone with ALS (also known as MND) lives about 2-3 years from first symptoms. About 5% of people live more than 10 years, and a very small percentage live for much longer, but this is very unusual. This variation in survival is well known and there does not seem to be a very reliable way of predicting who will have a slow form of the disease and who will have a fast form, although there are a few rough guidelines.”

Prof Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, said:

“Stephen Hawking overcame unimaginable challenges to become one of the most influential and renowned scientists of our time. His life is a testament to the power of human creativity and imagination. He was elected a Fellow to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32. He was also exceptional in his ability to connect with and inspire the public the world over. That he achieved all of this despite a long battle with motor neurone disease will serve as an inspiration to all. He will be sorely missed.”

Prof Paul Hardaker, Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics, said:

“It’s sad to hear the news that Stephen has passed away. A quite remarkable physicist and certainly a remarkable person. He made several fundamental and lasting contributions to cosmology but is probably best known by the public for his passion and enthusiasm in sharing his knowledge of how the universe works. It was a pleasure to have known him and we will very much miss him. Our best wishes are with Stephen’s family.”

Imran Khan, Head of Public Engagement, Wellcome Trust, said:

“Stephen Hawking could be called one of brilliant scientists of our time just for his research – but thanks to his brilliant communication, he also showed that science can and should be done in public, making it part of our shared culture and imagination. He’ll be hugely missed.”

Prof David Wands, Director of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, was a student at Cambridge and had lectures from Stephen, said:

“Stephen Hawking was one of the great scientists of our time. He had the ambition and the ability to tackle fundamental questions about gravity and quantum mechanics, their role in black holes and the origin of the universe. He realised that black holes can emit radiation, which we now call Hawking radiation, which eventually leads them to evaporate. He also discovered that the same quantum effect in the very early universe can lead to small fluctuations in the density of the hot thermal plasma, a fraction of a second after the big bang, and this could lead to all the structures that we observe in the cosmos around us, galaxies, stars and, ultimately planets and people.

“He was a huge inspiration to me personally when I was a student at Cambridge. At the time he was just writing the first draft of his book “A Brief History of Time” and he gave a series of lectures for undergraduates. The lectures were optional, not part of any exam, but we turned out in droves to hear him speak. Sitting on the steps in the lecture theatre to hear the words of the great man. He was already a celebrity in Cambridge but he soon became a global phenomenon.

I was also lucky enough to attend several scientific meetings which Hawking organised in Cambridge, where many of the world’s leading scientists would gather to present their work argue about science and enjoy Stephen’s hospitality. Last year he celebrated his 75th birthday with a series of talks, but also a reception back at his house where he opened his home to scientists from around the world.”

Katherine Mathieson, Chief Executive of the British Science Association, said:

“The staff and trustees of the British Science Association are saddened to hear of the death of Stephen Hawking.

“He was a true genius who had a great admiration of and connection to the public. Most people, when he published ‘A Brief History of Time’, would have thought a book about physics would not sell. But Stephen knew people would want to read it – and it turned out they did. He simplified and explained, but without gimmicks. His assumption that people are curious about the universe and black holes was true. He inspired us all to wonder.

“In turn, he was hugely admired by the public. This widespread admiration led brilliantly to his breaking down of the perceived boundaries between popular culture and science.

“Importantly, he showed that disability and difference are no barriers to success; he challenged perceptions. On a personal note, I remember him – from when I was a student at his University – speeding down the middle of the road to get around, because the pavements were too bumpy. It sent out a message that ‘it doesn’t matter what you look like, you can be a scientist here’.

“He will be sadly missed.”

Sir Paul Nurse, Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute, said

“Stephen Hawking was a great physicist, a great public communicator, and a great icon for science and rationalism throughout the world.  He will be sorely missed.”

Prof Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, Fellow of Trinity College, and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, said*:

“Soon after I enrolled as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964, I encountered a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty. This was Stephen Hawking. He had recently been diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and it was thought that he might not survive long enough even to finish his PhD. But, amazingly, he lived on to the age of 76.

Even mere survival would have been a medical marvel, but of course he didn’t just survive.  He became one of the most famous scientists in the world– acclaimed as a world-leading researcher in mathematical physics, for his best-selling books about space, time and the cosmos, and for his astonishing triumph over adversity.

Tragedy struck Stephen Hawking when he was only 22. He was diagnosed with a deadly disease, and his expectations dropped to zero. He himself said that everything that happened since then was a bonus. And what a triumph his life has been. His name will live in the annals of science; millions have had their cosmic horizons widened by his best-selling books; and even more, around the world, have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds – a manifestation of amazing will-power and determination.”

Declared interests

None received.

*Further comment from Prof Lord Martin Rees:

Astronomers are used to large numbers. But few numbers could be a large as the odds I’d have given, back in 1964 when Stephen received his ‘death sentence’, against witnessing this uniquely inspiring crescendo of achievement sustained for more than 50 years.  Few, if any, of Einstein’s successors have done more to deepen our insights into gravity, space and time.

Cambridge was Stephen’s base throughout his career, and he became a familiar figure navigating his wheelchair around the city’s streets.  By the end of the 1970s, he had advanced to one of the most distinguished posts in the University — the  Lucasian Professorship of Mathematics,  once held by Newton himself. He held this chair with distinction for 30 years; but reached the retiring age in 2009 and thereafter held a special research professorship. He travelled widely: he was a especially frequent visitor at Caltech, in Pasadena, California; and at Texas A and M University.  He   continued to seek new links between the very large (the cosmos) and the very small (atoms and quantum theory) and to gain deeper insights into the very beginning of our universe – addressing questions like ‘was our big bang the only one?’ He had a remarkable ability to figure things out in his head. But latterly he worked with students and colleagues who would write a formula on a blackboard; he would stare at it, and say whether he agreed with it, and perhaps what should come next.

Stephen’s ’eureka moment’ revealed a profound and unexpected link between gravity and quantum theory: he predicted that black holes would not be completely black, but would radiate in a characteristic way. Bekenstein’s concept that black holes had ‘entropy’ was more than just an analogy.  This radiation is only significant for black holes much less massive than stars – and none of these have been found. However ‘Hawking radiation’ had very deep implications for mathematical physics – indeed one of the main achievements of string theory has been to corroborate his idea.  It is still the focus of theoretical interest – a topic of debate and controversy more than 40 years after his discovery.

Stephen continued, right until his last decade, to co-author technical papers, and speak at premier international conferences — doubly remarkable in a subject where even healthy researchers tend to peak at an early age. Specially influential were his contributions to ‘cosmic inflation’ – a theory that many believe describes the ultra-early phases of our expanding universe. A key issue is to understand the primordial seeds which eventually develop into galaxies. He proposed (as, independently, did the Russian theorist Viatcheslav Mukhanov) that these were quantum fluctuations – somewhat analogous to those involved in ‘Hawking radiation’ from black holes. He hosted an important meeting in 1982 where such ideas were thoroughly discussed. Subsequently, particularly with James Hartle and Thomas Hertog, he made further steps towards linking the two great theories of 20th century physics: the quantum theory of the microworld and Einstein’s theory of gravity and space-time.

Stephen was far from being the archetype unworldy or nerdish scientist – his personality remained amazingly unwarped by his frustrations and handicaps.  As well as his extensive travels, he enjoyed trips to theatre or opera. He had robust common sense, and was ready to express forceful political opinions. However, a downside of his iconic status was that that his comments attracted exaggerated attention even on topics where he had no special expertise – for instance philosophy, or the dangers from aliens or from intelligent machines. And he was sometimes involved in media events where his ‘script’ was written by the promoters of causes about which he may have been ambivalent.

But there was absolutely no gainsaying his lifelong commitment to campaigns for the disabled, and (just in the last few months) in support of the NHS – to which he acknowledged he owed so much. He was always, at the personal level, sensitive to the misfortunes of others. He recorded that, when in hospital soon after his illness was first diagnosed, his depression was lifted when he compared his lot with a boy in the next bed who was dying of leukemia. And he was firmly aligned with other political campaigns and causes. When he visited Israel, he insisted on going also to the West Bank. Newspapers in 2006 showed remarkable pictures of him, in his wheelchair, surrounded by fascinated and curious crowds in Ramallah.