Stephen Hawking is a British theoretical physicist. He is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and the distinguished research chair at Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.
Hawking is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes, and his popular works in which he describes his own theories and cosmology in general. These include the very popular science best-seller A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. His key scientific works to date have included providing, with Roger Penrose, theorems regarding singularities in the framework of general relativity.
Hawking also worked on the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation. His scientific career spans over 40 years and his books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity and world-renowned theoretical physicist. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Science.
