MG 6 · 1991
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist known for black-hole thermodynamics, singularity theorems, and quantum cosmology.
Born
1942, Oxford, United Kingdom
Affiliation at the Time of the Award
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Prize Motivation
“For his contributions to the understanding of spacetime singularities and of the large scale structure of the Universe and of its quantum origins.”
Meeting
MG VI, Kyoto, Japan
Work
Singularities and black-hole horizons reveal where classical gravity meets quantum physics.
Hawking proved singularity results with Penrose, derived black-hole radiation, and developed quantum-cosmology models.
His work changed the understanding of black holes from purely absorbing objects to thermodynamic quantum systems.