Cambridge string theorist to succeed Stephen Hawking
And Issac Newton. And Charles Babbage
A Cambridge physicist who revolutionized the concept of string theory has been tapped to succeed Steven Hawking in one of the world's most prestigious academic posts.
String theorist Michael Green will become Cambridge University's 18th Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. The chair has been held in its 340-some year history by past luminaries such as Isaac Newton, James Lighthill, and Charles Babbage.
Hawking stepped down from the professorship on September 30 in accordance with Cambridge custom that dictates the post be vacated when the incumbent reaches the age of 67. Hawking will continue to work as director of research at the university's department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics.
Green revived string theory in 1984 along with John Schwarz of the California Institute of Technology, by showing how it could describe how disparate models for general relativity, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics fit into a single, all-encompassing framework.
"Michael Green has played a leading role in theoretical physics in the Department since 1993. He is internationally known as a pioneer in string theory which over the last 20 years has become one of the most important and active areas of the field," said Peter Haynes, head of the department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics in a statement.
"In the Department he continues to make important advances in this topic and at the same time to support and inspire young researchers," he continued. "His appointment as Lucasian Professor continues the very distinguished tradition of that post."
Green will take up the Lucasian Professorship at the beginning of November. ®
COMMENTS
@Louis Savain
"Why do two bodies in relative inertial motion stay in motion?"
Wait, wait! Let me guess ::waves hand in air:: ... Because nothing stops them?
Seriously, dude, learn about energy transfer; a little vector math(s) wouldn't go amiss.
It ain't exactly rocket science ... Oh, wait, yes it is!
Ten Famous Belgians ^_^
Well, as an Aussie of Belgian origin, I'll start the list:
1) Eddy Merckx, *five* times winner of the Tour de France
2) Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone
3) Herge (Georges Remi) , the creator of TinTin
4) Audrey Hepburn, actress (born in Ixelles in 1929, for the record)
5) Plastic Bertrand, punk/rock singer of 'Ca Plane Pour Moi' fame (or should that be infamous?)
6) Peter Paul Rubens, baroque painter
7) Rene Magritte, surrealist painter
8) George Lemaitre, astronomer who invented the Big Bang theory
9) Albert Claude, the first biochemist to isolate a cancer cell
10) Leo Hendrik Baekeland, the inventor of bakelite
While we're at it:
# Edward de Smedt, chemist and inventor of modern-day road asphalt
# Gerardus Mercator, cartographer, mathematician and geographer
# Joseph Plateau, inventor of the stroboscope
# Ernest Solvay, inventor of the Solvey process (ammonia)
# Jean Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt, inventor of the two-finger guitar playing technique
# Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir, inventor of the internal-combustion engine
# Charles Van Depoele, inventor of the electric railway
# Zénobe Gramme, inventor of the Gramme dynamo
# Constant Loiseau, inventor of the optometer
How about some Nobel Laureates?
# Ilya Prigogine, Chemistry, 1977
# Christian de Duve, Physiology and Medicine, 1974
# Albert Claude, Physiology and Medicine, 1974
# Georges Pire, Peace, 1958
# Corneille Heymans, Physiology and Medicine, 1938
# Jules Bordet, Physiology and Medicine, 1919
# Henri La Fontaine, Peace, 1913
# Maurice Maeterlinck, Literature, 1911
# Auguste Beernaert, Peace, 1909
What's the crack
I have to point out that there's really no point to string theory. (Methematicians will concur on this).
The corollary is that you cannot specify the locus of the centre of gravity of a piece of flying spaghetti. How you shoot it down is anyone's guess.
Interesting that the singular of spaghetti translates from the Italian as "fear". Now you know why.
Join the dots,.. Oops
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Cloud based data management
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
SaaS data loss: The problem you didn’t know you had
What you need to know about cloud backup
