Education
Stephen Hawking – Visionary Physicist Dies Aged 76
World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76.
He died peacefully at his home in Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday, his family said.
The British scientist was famed for his work with black holes and relativity, and wrote several popular science books including A Brief History of Time.
At the age of 22 Prof Hawking was given only a few years to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease.
The illness left him in a wheelchair and largely unable to speak except through a voice synthesiser.
In a statement his children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, said: “We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today.
“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years.”
They praised his “courage and persistence” and said his “brilliance and humour” inspired people across the world.
“He once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever.”
A book of condolence is due to be opened at Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge, where Prof Hawking was a fellow.
Prof Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology as a union of relativity and quantum mechanics.
He also discovered that black holes leak energy and fade to nothing – a phenomenon that would later become known as Hawking radiation.
Through his work with mathematician Sir Roger Penrose he demonstrated that Einstein’s general theory of relativity implies space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes.
The scientist gained popularity outside the academic world and appeared in several TV shows including The Simpsons, Red Dwarf and The Big Bang Theory.
He was portrayed in both TV and film – recently by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything, which charted his rise to fame and relationship with his first wife, Jane.
The actor paid tribute to him, saying: “We have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet.”
Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Prof Hawking in a BBC drama, said he was “a true inspiration for me and for millions around the world”.
His most famous book – A Brief History of Time – has now shot to the top of the Amazon Best Sellers list.
The Motor Neurone Disease Association, of which Prof Hawking had been a patron since 2008, reported that its website had crashed because of an influx of donations to the charity.
Factfile: Stephen Hawking
Born 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England
Earned place at Oxford University to read natural science in 1959, before studying for his PhD at Cambridge
By 1963, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and given two years to live
Outlined his theory that black holes emit “Hawking radiation” in 1974
In 1979, he became the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the Cambridge – a post once held by Sir Isaac Newton
Published his book A Brief History of Time in 1988, which has sold more than 10 million copies
In the late 1990s, he was reportedly offered a knighthood, but 10 years later revealed he had turned it down over issues with the government’s funding for science
Tributes have poured in for Prof Hawking since the announcement of his death.
Prof Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, who was at university with Prof Hawking when he was diagnosed, said his friend had “amazing willpower and determination”.
Prime Minister Theresa May called him a “brilliant and extraordinary mind” and “one of the great scientists of his generation”.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn praised the scientist for his “determination to explain the mysteries of the cosmos” and his “burning passion to protect our National Health Service.”
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the web, said: “We have lost a colossal mind and a wonderful spirit. Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking,” he said.
The vice chancellor of the University of Cambridge – where Prof Hawking had studied and worked – Professor Stephen Toope, said he was a “unique individual” who would be remembered with “warmth and affection”.
Prof James Hartle, who worked with him to create the Hartle-Hawking wavefunction to explain the Big Bang, said Prof Hawking had a “unique” ability to “see through all the clutter in physics” and get to the point.
He told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme: “My memory of him would be… first our work together as scientists and, second, as a human being whose whole story is a triumph over adversity [and] who inspired a lot of people, including me.”
The comedian and presenter of the BBC’s Stargazing Live Dara O’Briain said the scientist had an “immeasurable life” and “one of the few people I would call a hero of mine”.
Theoretical physicist, professor Jim Al-Khalili, from Surrey University said Prof Hawking had a tremendous sense of humour.
He told BBC Radio Surrey: “He was a fun loving guy. Inside that shell, inside that body that was paralysed, was someone who was full of vigour, full of passion for life.”
Hawking’s discoveries
With the Oxford mathematician Roger Penrose, he showed that if there was a Big Bang, it must have started from an infinitely small point – a singularity
Black holes radiate energy known as Hawking radiation, while gradually losing mass. This is due to quantum effects near the edge of the black hole, a region called the event horizon
He predicted the existence of mini-black holes at the time of the Big Bang. These black holes would have shed mass until they vanished, potentially ending their lives in an explosion that would release vast amounts of energy
In the 1970s, Hawking considered whether the particles and light that enter a black hole were ultimately destroyed if the black hole evaporated. Hawking initially thought that this “information” was lost from the Universe. But the US physicist Leonard Susskind disagreed.
These ideas became known as the information paradox. In 2004, Hawking conceded that the information must be conserved
British astronaut Tim Peake said Prof Hawking “inspired generations to look beyond our own blue planet and expand our understanding of the universe”.
Gian Giudice, head of theoretical physics at the European nuclear research laboratory CERN, said Prof Hawking had a “great impact” on the centre’s research, adding: “A giant of our field has left us, but his immortal contributions will remain forever.”
Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak said: “Stephen Hawking’s integrity and scientific dedication placed him above pure brilliance,”
In his 2013 memoir he described how he felt when first diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
“I felt it was very unfair – why should this happen to me,” he wrote.
“At the time, I thought my life was over and that I would never realise the potential I felt I had. But now, 50 years later, I can be quietly satisfied with my life.”
Speaking to the BBC in 2002, his mother, Isobelle, described him as a “very normal young man”.
She said: “He liked parties. He liked pretty girls – only pretty ones. He liked adventure and he did, to some extent, like work.”
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Education
Climate Change: NerdzFactory Foundation and Access Bank take climate advocacy to Lagos Schools
Students in public secondary schools in Lagos state will serve as model ambassadors for the global climate change advocacy being championed by financial giant, Access Bank and NerdzFactory Foundation, a non-profit organization working to improve access to quality education & skills, decent jobs, economic empowerment, climate change education and gender equality.
As part of the initiative, a flag-off event held at the Lagos City College Hall, Yaba on October 31st with the launch of “the climate change and environmental sustainability clubs,” which will equip at least 2000 students and teachers across 50 schools in Lagos State.
Students from ten schools within the Yaba axis participated in the launch event, which included the announcement of a climate essay competition that kicked off on November 7. The schools in attendance include Lagos City Senior College; Jibowu Junior High School; Wesley Girls Senior Secondary School; Aje Comprehensive Senior High School; Mobolaji Bank Anthony Junior High School; Birrel Avenue Senior High School; and Wesley Girls Junior Secondary School.
While addressing the students, Senior Special Assistant on Education to the Governor of Lagos State, Adetola Salau said that climate change is a real phenomenon that should be understood rather than dismissed.
“Since it is you and possibly your children who will be the ones dealing with the effects of climate change in about 30 years’ time, it is important for you to be interested and become engaged from now,” she said.
The climate change and sustainability clubs are designed to educate teachers, students and school leaders on environmental sustainability and climate change education, while also encouraging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and green careers among young people. The initiative is coming at a time when the world and the state needs sustainable climate intervention.
Ade’ Olowojoba, Director at NerdzFactory Foundation referred to the current nationwide flood crisis as a reason why more attention should be paid to climate change issues in Nigeria.
He charged the students to not be passive about the environment but always take action. “No matter how little, every positive action for a better environment count.”
According to the Head, Group Sustainability at Access Corporation, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, “Climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity today and Access Corporation remains committed to investing in climate change education to drive environmental sustainability.”
“Drawing from our experience in championing climate change initiatives over two decades, we have come to the realisation that there is a need to expand the knowledge base and deepen the interest of the younger generation in climate change issues if we are to stand any chance of sustaining positive impact. Hence, we are proud to be partnering with NerdzFactory to launch the climate change and sustainability clubs. It is our desire to scale this pilot initiative and extend our footprint across other geo-political zones over the next few years,” Victor-Laniyan added.
Also at the event were representatives from Access Bank (sponsor); Lagos State Ministry of Education; Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC) and the NerdzFactory Foundation team members.
NerdzFactory Foundation is dedicated to giving young adults across Africa/Nigeria with 21st Century technology skills needed to innovate, become self-reliant and also create jobs for themselves and others while also equipping them with knowledge and skills on how to ensure environmental sustainability.
The vice-president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday, received governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress who came on a felicitation visit in his office at the presidential villa as he recovers from surgery.
The economy and the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities were among the issues discussed.
This was revealed in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the president on media and publicity, Laolu Akande.
Osinbajo said, “we all need to work together on these critical issues. We need to think through things, and we need to do it fast.”
The Vice President and the governors agreed to engage these issues with a view to bringing urgent resolution for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
Thanking the governors via Twitter, the VP said, “My utmost appreciation to the APC State Governors that visited me this afternoon. We discussed some national issues and are committed to the quick resolution of those pressing issues.“
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