【校友故事】Our Imperial

帝国理工校长Alice Gast教授高度赞誉了霍金教授指引了当代的理论物理学与宇宙学的研究方向以及取得的卓著成就，“鉴于霍金教授在科学领域的贡献，全世界人民都对他有着崇高的敬意与感激。他的自传《我的简史》启迪、鼓舞了无数读者。我校在理论物理领域有着许多世界领先的研究，包括弦论、量子场论、宇宙学、量子力学基础、以及量子引力学。霍金教授与帝国理工学院及剑桥大学，在前沿物理科研中已建立了深入且长远的合作。”

帝国理工自然科学学院院长Tom Welton教授说道：“霍金教授的科研成果向世界展示了一个关于黑洞与宇宙起源的全新理念。霍金教授与罗杰·彭罗斯教授一起解释了在爱因斯坦的广义相对论的框架下，时空如何起源于大爆炸、并终结于黑洞，这项工作揭示了黑洞和早期宇宙是深入探索物理定律的关键理论基础。1975年，霍金教授得到了‘量子理论暗示黑洞具有温度且产生辐射’这一意义深远的重大发现，在过去的40年中，他的工作被认为是人类在追寻完整的量子引力理论（用以统一广义相对论与量子理论的）过程中最最重要的一环”

帝国理工学院委员会主席Philip Dilley先生讲道：“荣誉学位代表着帝国理工学院对于被授予者的高度认可，以肯定其在科学、工程、医学、或商学学科的卓越贡献。它被授予来自全世界的先驱者，以表彰其造福社会或给予人类科研启迪的科学发现，霍金教授被授予这份无上荣誉乃实至名归。”

霍金的传奇人生

霍金出生于英国牛津，被誉为继爱因斯坦之后最杰出的理论物理学家，同时也被认为是当代最重要的广义相对论和宇宙论家，不仅被称为在世的最伟大科学家之一，更被赞誉为“宇宙之王”。他17岁时进入牛津大学攻读自然科学，用极短的时间获得了一等学位后，又转入剑桥大学攻读宇宙学。21岁时，他不幸被诊断患有肌肉萎缩性侧索硬化症，即运动神经细胞病。当时，医生曾断言身患绝症的他只能再活两年，可他即便全身瘫痪、不能言语、手部唯独只有三根手指可以活动，仍然一直坚强地活了下来，继续为他科学事业而奋斗。

霍金于1979至2009年任剑桥大学数学及理论物理学教授，并荣获英国剑桥大学卢卡斯数学教席，这是自然科学史上继牛顿和狄拉克之后的最高荣誉教席。他的主要研究领域是宇宙论及黑洞，证明了广义相对论的奇性定理和黑洞面积定理，提出了黑洞蒸发理论和无边界的霍金宇宙模型，在统一20世纪物理学的两大基础理论——爱因斯坦创立的相对论和普朗克创立的量子力学方面推进了重要一步。 获得CH（英国荣誉勋爵）、CBE（大英帝国司令勋章）、FRS（英国皇家学会会员）、FRSA（英国皇家艺术协会会员）等荣誉。

《霍金的故事》

2004年，BBC推出了由“卷福”本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇（Benedict Cumberbatch）饰演的《霍金的故事》，这一根据当今最伟大的理论物理学家史蒂芬-霍金的亲身故事而改变的传记片，使更多的霍金粉丝更加近距离的观察他的早年生活。不管你是霍金粉，还是卷福迷，在这部天才传记片中，你可以再次感受到卷福帅气的外表和坚韧强大的内心。片中充满着浓郁的学术气息和英伦氛围，并伴随着各个流派的古典交响乐，在这样一种视觉盛宴中，你还可以体会到更多的东西：有霍金恋人——简的不离不弃，有科学交流中的深厚友情，也有霍金一家的温馨感人的脉脉温情。不过最重要的，还是刻画了霍金这样一个纯粹为了科学而孜孜不倦的探索者，这样的一种探索精神体现在彻夜不眠地去证明霍伊尔的计算错误，更体现在发现大爆炸原理时和罗杰-彭罗斯一起欢欣鼓舞的场面。

追随霍金

作为帝国理工学院的一员，我们非常荣幸能与霍金教授成为校友，他对科学的执着、对生活的热爱、对命运的不屈，都是我们学习的榜样。“科学是帝国的荣耀和蔽护”，我们将铭记母校的校训，带着对未知科学的敬畏与向往，与全世界优秀的校友一起砥砺前行。

Stephen Hawking awarded Imperial College London's highest honour

Imperial has conferred an honorary doctorate on Stephen Hawking, the world renowned scientist.

The honour was given at a special ceremony at the Royal Society on Monday 17 July, which celebrated the remarkable contributions Professor Hawking has made to physics and cosmology over his 50-year career.

Professor Stephen Hawking said: “I have always felt a deep affinity with Imperial. It gives me great pleasure to accept this honour.

“Imperial has changed the way we think about the universe. Through its world-leading research into theoretical physics, string theory, cosmology, and quantum gravity, Imperial probes the boundaries of human knowledge.

I am proud to say that five of my greatest students have risen to become Imperial professors, and some of my most fruitful collaborations have been with Imperial’s theoretical physics group.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Imperial’s Dean of Natural Sciences Professor Tom Welton said: “Professor Hawking’s scientific work has given the world a new understanding of black holes and the origins of the universe.

“With Roger Penrose he showed how Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity implied that space and time would have their beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. This work revealed that black holes and the early universe were the key theoretical laboratories for probing physical law at ever deeper levels. In 1975 Professor Hawking made the profound discovery that quantum theory implied that black holes had a temperature and radiate.

“For the past 40 years this work has been considered to be the single most important step in our quest for obtaining a full theory of quantum gravity, unifying General Relativity with quantum theory.”

Imperial’s President Professor Alice Gast praised Professor Hawking’s “wonderful achievements” which have “shaped the direction of current research in theoretical physics and cosmology”.

“The high regard we have for Professor Hawking and the widely felt appreciation of his contributions to science and society are demonstrated in all corners of the world. Through his popular science books Professor Hawking has enlightened and inspired readers of all ages and all interests.

“Our theoretical physics group conducts world leading research in some of the most exciting areas of theoretical physics, including string theory, quantum field theory, cosmology, quantum foundations, and gravity. Professor Hawking, and Imperial and Cambridge, have developed collaborations advancing physics in profound ways.”

Sir Philip Dilley, Chair of Imperial’s Council, said: “Honorary degrees show Imperial College’s appreciation for people who have made remarkable contributions to our disciplines of science, engineering, medicine or business. They are given to leaders from across the world who inspire our work by advancing knowledge and benefitting society through their discoveries. Professor Hawking is most certainly an exceptional individual and fully deserving of this highest accolade.”

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