Stephen Hawking, Legendary Physicist and Cosmologist, Dies at 76

The legendary scientist, Stephen William Hawking (January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018) has passed away at the age of 76 at his home town in Cambridge, England, on March 14, 2018.

By Joanne Shih

Stephen Hawking, an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and the author of A Brief History of Time and many other popular publications, spent his life time exploring the mysteries of the cosmos, time and black holes.

In 1963, Hawking was diagnosed with a rare early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), when he was 21. The disease caused Hawking loss of physical abilities and gradually paralyzed him over the years, doctors gave him a life expectancy of two years at that time. Nevertheless, Hawking was not discouraged by his physical disabilities, but carries on an extraordinarily meaningful life with his passion for science. With physical accessibility devices, Hawking was able to communicate with others and deliver significant scientific works.

Hawking was the pioneer in studying the universes and the first to establish a theory of cosmology described the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Hawking also had a renowned collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems explaining that black holes emit radiation, which often called Hawking radiation.

His scientific works were recognized by the Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 2009, Hawking also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Reference
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking

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