Stephen William Hawkings, Rising Above Disability To Emerge World’s Greatest Mind Alive!
December 3, was the International Day
of Persons With Disabilities. A day set aside by the United Nations (UN) to
draw attention to the plight of the disabled in our societies around the world.
For reasons beyond my control I was not able to pen something on that day. But
as they say it is better late than never. And I have chosen to write about a
man constrained by disabilities but who rose above it to emerge the greatest
scientific mind alive today and is an inspiration to both the disabled and the
abled worldwide. I am talking about Dr Stephen Williams Hawkings.
In a world where some people believe
that the disabled should not be heard or seen, he has become a sort of science
celebrity, using his knowledge of Maths, and Physics to change the way we view
the earth and the universe. Through decades of suffering Hawkings has seen ‘hell’.
I know he may not believe that because as a scientific mind that does not
believe that ‘heaven’ exists, he surely does not believe there is hell. For if
they exist, he could have discovered the mathematical formula to determine
their precise location in the universe. I may not share his irreligious belief,
but I share in his humanity, because at the end of the day believers and
unbelievers are basically flesh and blood. And if we are spirits, Hawkings must
be the greatest spirit man in the universe, given the challenges he had to
overcome hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly to be able to function
effectively.
Nature has denied him so much. He
cannot walk like everybody else; he cannot eat like others; he cannot even
speak like others, but what nature has failed to provide, science and
technology has come to his rescue, time and again, so that humanity can
continue to tap from the inner recess of this great scientific mind. He has
authors several books, broke new grounds in Physics and has shown the world
that there is a very thin line between science fiction and the real world. His Big
Bang Theory has changed the way we view the world and opened unprecedented
scientific new grounds that seemed lifted from Science fiction books. Awarding
Hawkings the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, President Barack Obama said
of his impact to our world: "From his wheelchair has led us on a journey
to the farthest and strangest reaches of to the furthest corners of the cosmos.
In so doing, he has stirred our imagination and shown us the power of the human
spirit here on earth." Need I say anymore!
Hawkings’ success is a lesson to all
nations; education and more education is what the disabled need most and they
can impact positively our world.
BRIEF HISTORY OF STEPHEN WILLIAM
HAWKINGS
Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942
(300 years after the death of Galileo) in Oxford, England. His parents'
house was in north London, but during the second world war, Oxford was
considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family
moved to St. Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London. At the age of
eleven, Stephen went to St. Albans School and then on to University College,
Oxford; his father's old college. Stephen wanted to study Mathematics,
although his father would have preferred medicine. Mathematics was not
available at University College, so he pursued Physics instead. After
three years and not very much work, he was awarded a first class honours
degree in Natural Science.
Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no one working in that area in Oxford at the time. His supervisor was Denis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph.D. he became first a Research Fellow and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973, Stephen came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in 1979, and held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1979 until 2009. The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow and then in 1669 by Isaac Newton. Stephen is still an active part of Cambridge University and retains an office at the Department for Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics. His title is now the Dennis Stanton Avery and Sally Tsui Wong-Avery Director of Research at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.
Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated that it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great Scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but rather should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.
His many publications include The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime with G F R Ellis, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey, with W Israel, and 300 Years of Gravity, with W Israel. Among the popular books Stephen Hawking has published are his best seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design and My Brief History.
Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees. He was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes, is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
Stephen was diagnosed with ALS, a form of Motor Neurone Disease, shortly after his 21st birthday. In spite of being wheelchair bound and dependent on a computerised voice system for communication Stephen Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and three grandchildren), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive programme of travel and public lectures. He still hopes to make it into space one day.
Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no one working in that area in Oxford at the time. His supervisor was Denis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph.D. he became first a Research Fellow and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973, Stephen came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in 1979, and held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1979 until 2009. The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow and then in 1669 by Isaac Newton. Stephen is still an active part of Cambridge University and retains an office at the Department for Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics. His title is now the Dennis Stanton Avery and Sally Tsui Wong-Avery Director of Research at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.
Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated that it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great Scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but rather should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.
His many publications include The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime with G F R Ellis, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey, with W Israel, and 300 Years of Gravity, with W Israel. Among the popular books Stephen Hawking has published are his best seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design and My Brief History.
Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees. He was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes, is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
Stephen was diagnosed with ALS, a form of Motor Neurone Disease, shortly after his 21st birthday. In spite of being wheelchair bound and dependent on a computerised voice system for communication Stephen Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and three grandchildren), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive programme of travel and public lectures. He still hopes to make it into space one day.
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