Stephen William Hawking (born 8.01.1942) is an English theoretical physicist and a Fellow of the Royal Society (1974). He was born in Oxford. He graduated from the University of Oxford. Since 1965 he has worked at the University of Cambridge (professor since 1977).
His work concerned general relativity, in particular space-time singularities, the theory of gravitation, theoretical astrophysics (gravitational collapse, black holes) and mathematical physics. Together with G. Ellis he showed that a wide class of homogeneous cosmological models must be singular. In 1966 — 67 he developed new methods that made it possible to establish that any plausible cosmology based on general relativity must have a singularity. In 1969, together with R. Penrose, he proved the strongest of all the singularity theorems of a certain wide class (the Hawking—Penrose theorem).
He worked out a series of proofs establishing that in general relativity black holes (in a vacuum) are described by the Kerr metric; that topologies other than the spherical cannot occur; and that the energy radiated when two black holes merge into one must obey a certain limit. He established (1971—72) the second law of black hole dynamics. He predicted (1974) the quantum process of the “evaporation” of black holes. He studied the formation of helium in the Big Bang, the possibility of black holes existing in binary star systems, and detectors of gravitational waves.
The A. Eddington Medal (1975), the J. Maxwell Medal (1976), the D. Hughes Medal (1976), the A. Einstein Medal (1978).