NEWS RELEASE

Prof. Stephen Hawking Announced as Honorary Festival President

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, June 12, 2009 – Prof. Stephen Hawking, the world’s most famous living physicist, will be the Honorary Festival President for Perimeter Institute’s Quantum to Cosmos: Ideas for the Future festival, to be held from October 15-25, 2009. In accepting this role, Prof. Hawking officially endorses this landmark science festival.   Prof. Hawking maintains his current position as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, a position once held by Isaac Newton. He has accepted his festival duties in addition to his role as a Perimeter Institute Distinguished Research Chair and Patron of the Perimeter Scholars International program.

About Prof. Hawking

Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 (300 years after the death of Galileo) in Oxford, England. He studied Physics at Oxford and Cambridge, gaining his Ph.D in Cosmology at Cambridge. Since 1979, he has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge—the same post held by Isaac Newton in 1669.

Professor Hawking works 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. One of his discoveries is that black holes should not be completely black, but rather should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear; another is that the universe has no edge or boundary.

His many publications include three popular books: his best-seller "A Brief History of Time", "Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays", and most recently in 2001, "The Universe in a Nutshell".

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 Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and one grandchild), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive program of travel and public lectures.

About the Quantum to Cosmos Festival

For 10 exciting days this October, Perimeter Institute’s Quantum to Cosmos: Ideas for the Future (Q2C) will take a global audience from the strange world of subatomic particles to the outer frontiers of the universe. Q2C's extensive program features more than 50 events — including panel discussions, keynote presentations, special screenings, exhibits including the full-scale model of the next Mars Rover (named Curiosity), and recorded sessions with Honorary Festival President Professor Stephen Hawking. Check out our speakers page to see who's coming! Q2C will transcend traditional festivals by streaming events live and on demand, offering virtual interaction with exhibits, and providing special opportunities for students and teachers.

About Perimeter Institute

Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, non-profit, scientific research and educational outreach organization where international scientists cluster to push the limits of our understanding of physical laws and develop new ideas about the very essence of space, time, matter and information. The centre provides a multi-disciplinary environment to foster scientific collaboration in research areas of cosmology, particle physics, quantum foundations, quantum gravity, quantum information, superstring theory, and related disciplines. PI also provides a wide array of award winning outreach resources and public lectures for students, teachers and the general public to share the joy of research, discovery and innovation. In partnership with the Governments of Ontario and Canada, PI continues to be a successful example of private and public collaboration in science research and education.