Teacher appreciation: STEPHEN HAWKING (Oxford, United Kingdom, 1942). Theoretical physicist, born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, SC England, UK. He studied at Oxford, then spent his career in Cambridge, holding a chair there from 1977. His work has been concerned with cosmology in a variety of aspects, dealing with black holes, singularities, and the 'big bang' theory of the origin of the universe. His popular writing is also notable, especially A Brief History of Time (1988). Later books include Black Holes and Baby Universes (1993) and The Universe in a Nutshell (2002, Aventis Science Book Prize). His achievement is all the more noteworthy because since the 1960s he has suffered from a neuromotor disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, causing extreme physical disability; he communicates with the aid of a computer. He was made a Companion of Honour of the Queen in 1989. Back to Home: Teacher Appreciation |