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Stephen William Hawking expanded our knowledge of the universe and showed that no matter the obstacle, you can achieve amazing feats
You may know him for his best-selling book, A Brief History of Time, for his over 230 publications in various scientific journals, for his appearances on several TV shows, including The Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons, or through the Oscar-nominated movie on his life, The Theory of Everything. Or you may simply know him as the brilliant scientist with ALS.
However you know Stephen Hawking, it comes as no surprise that he is considered one of the greatest minds of this lifetime, winning multiple awards in recognition for his work in physics and cosmology.
To honour the late, brilliant Professor Stephen Hawking, we asked TopCV's Senior Staff Writer TC Paulson to create a CV that showcases Hawking's achievements across his more than 50-year career theorising about the stars, space, and time.
Given Hawking's work in the field of science and academia, Paulson opted to write his CV using an academic CV format that allowed extra space for Hawking's impressive and extensive list of publications.
Below are the first two pages of his academic CV. We invite you to take a closer look at the groundbreaking work that changed how we perceive space and time and catapulted Stephen Hawking on to the world stage.
Text version
Stephen Hawking, PhD
Cambridge, England
+44 1223 456789
hawking.org.uk
Visionary Scientist, Dedicated Professor, Acclaimed Researcher, and Best-Selling Author
Renowned for international record of achievement in theorising and publishing pioneering work in physics and cosmology. Deeply curious thought leader committed to expanding accessibility of science and scientific concepts of the universe and space-time from the strict scientific domain to reach and engage the general public and individuals of all ages.
Controversial and collaborative approach to generating knowledge through debates on the origin of the universe, the existence of God, and numerous laws of science, gravity, time, and space. Served as the Emeritus Lucasian Professor for Cambridge, a title held also by Isaac Newton, Paul Dirac, and Charles Babbage.
SELECT ACHIEVEMENTS
•Internationally recognised for numerous publications including: A Brief History of Time, The Grand Design, The Universe in a Nutshell, A Briefer History of Time, and The Grand Design.
•Recognised as an archetypical scientist and appeared on popular TV shows including The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory; life-story was presented in the feature film The Theory of Everything.
•Awarded the Copley Medal from the Royal Society (2006), the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the US (2009), the Russian Special Fundamental Physics Prize (2013).
•Received the Albert Einstein Medal and an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford (1978).
•Presented with the Eddington Medal and the Pius XI Gold Medal (1975), the Dannie Heineman Prize, the Maxwell Prize, and the Hughes Medal (1976).
•Awarded the American Franklin Medal (1981) and was appointed the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 New Year Honours. Voted for inclusion on the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons.
•Received numerous honorary degrees: the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1985), the Paul Dirac Medal (1987), and the prestigious Wolf Prize (1988, with Penrose).
•Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
•Dubbed the “Master of the Universe” by Newsweek magazine for ground-breaking contributions to science while simultaneously overcoming challenges to an early-life diagnosis of ALS.
•Partnered with daughter, Lucy Hawking, to write and publish a children's book on science: George and the Unbreakable Code.
EDUCATION
PhD, Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, March 1966 (Specialty in general relativity and cosmology)
Cambridge University, Cambridge, England
•Doctoral Thesis: “Properties of Expanding Universes”, 1966
BA (Hons.) degree in Natural Science, 1962
Oxford University, Oxford, England
EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England2009 to 2018
Director, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Following tenure as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, selected as Director of the Dennis Stanton Avery and Sally Tsui Wong-Avery Director of Research. Led department renowned for engaging in world-class research in diverse subject areas within applied mathematics and theoretical physics.
Notable Accomplishments:
•Served as the Founder of the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology (CTC) at the University and led the General Relativity group in DAMTP.
•Continued to serve as Principal Investigator of the COSMOS National Cosmology Supercomputer.
•Contributed to launching Breakthrough Initiatives, an effort to search for extra-terrestrial life, including the Stephen Hawking: Expedition New Earth, a documentary on space colonisation, as a 2017 episode of Tomorrow's World.
•Completed research to alter original theory on black holes; proposed that not all information was necessarily lost, and some might be retrievable when a black hole collapsed.
•Held a party (with none in attendance) that was publicised only after it ended, as an ironic test of the conjecture that travel into the past is effectively impossible.
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England1977 to 2009
Lucasian Professor of Mathematics (1977 to 2009)
Professor of Gravitational Physics (1977 to 1979)
Initially advanced to Professor of Gravitational Physics then assumed long-term standing as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. Developed numerous theories and engaged in debates and investigations with colleagues while fostering an evolving intuitive and speculative approach to research, as opposed to relying on strict mathematical proofs for exploring and presenting theories.
Notable Accomplishments:
•Delivered an inaugural lecture (as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics): "Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics?" with the proposal of N=8 Supergravity as the leading theory to address many outstanding problems studied by physicists
•Pursued continuous research to develop the Hawking Radiation Theory and delivered a series of lectures with Penrose on "The Nature of Space and Time" while working with colleagues on general relativity and quantum mechanics concepts with various modifications to black hole theories.
•In 1981, presented a proposal leading to the “Black Hole War" with Leonard Susskind and Gerard Hooft; proposed an information paradox that violates a fundamental tenet of quantum mechanics.
•Contributed to Cosmological Inflation theory, proposing that following the Big Bang, the universe expanded rapidly then settled to a slower expansion; delivered the "The Very Early Universe" Nuffield Workshop and proposed quantum fluctuations similar to the famous Hawking radiation theory.
•Developed and presented concepts and theories to attempt to link the quantum theory of the microworld and Einstein's theory of gravity and space-time.
•Engaged in quantum theory research to explore the origins of the universe; presented work suggesting the possibility of an absence of a space-time boundary to the universe; later published the model Hartle–Hawking state with Jim Hartle, with implications about the existence of God.
•Completed theoretical work to result in the Arrows of Time theory and a 1985 publication theorising that when the universe stopped expanding and collapsed, then time would run backward, but then redacted theory following calculations by colleagues Don Page and Raymond Laflamme.
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA1970 to 1977
Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Visiting Professor
Received appointment to world-renowned US research and technology institute to collaborate with colleagues to study the properties, existence, and nature of black holes. Completed rigorous research, delivered lectures, and fostered strong networks with leading scientists.
Notable Accomplishments:
•During this time, engaged in a now famous wager on the proposition that black holes did not exist, specifically whether the X-ray source Cygnus X-1 was a black hole.
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England1962 to 1975
Research Fellow, Research Assistant, Reader, & Doctoral Student
Under supervision of Dr. Dennis Sciama, engaged in inaugural research in cosmology to complete PhD in 1965 then transitioned among Cambridge colleges to envision, plan, complete, and publish foundational theories and discoveries in mathematics and theoretical physics. Transitioned between the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Gonville & Caius College, and the Institute of Astronomy.
Notable Accomplishments:
•Upon completing Doctoral Thesis, Properties of Expanding Universes, assumed role as a Research Fellow then served as Fellow for Distinction in Science (1969) at Gonville & Caius College within Cambridge.
•Won the Adams Prize for essay Singularities and the Geometry of Space-time, and subsequently transitioned to the Institute of Astronomy in 1968.
•Returned to Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (1973) as Research Assistant to collaborate with George Ellis to write and publish, The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time.
•In 1975, became Reader in Gravitational Physics at Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.
•Accepted the Fellowship for Distinction in Science, a specially created role to remain at Caius College.
PUBLICATIONS
1.A Smooth Exit from Eternal Inflation. S.W. Hawking, T. Hertog. 24 Jul 2017. 14pp, arXiv:1707.07702 [hep-th]
2.The Conformal BMS Group. S.J. Haco, S.W. Hawking, M.J. Perry, J.L. Bourjaily. 27 Jan 2017. 16pp, arXiv:1701.08110 [hep-th]
3.Superrotation Charge and Supertranslation Hair on Black Holes. S.W. Hawking, M.J. Perry, A. Strominger. High Energ. Phys. (2017) 2017: 161. DOI: 10.1007/JHEP05(2017)161.
4.Black Holes: The Reith Lectures. S.W. Hawking, May 2016, ISBN-13: 978-0857503572
5.George and the Blue Moon. L. Hawking, S.W. Hawking, Mar 2016, ISBN-13: 978-0857533272
6.Soft Hair on Black Holes. S.W. Hawking, M.J. Perry, A. Strominger. Jan 5, 2016. 9pp. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 (2016) no.23, 231301, arXiv:1601.00921, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.231301
7.The Information Paradox for Black Holes, S.W. Hawking. Sep 3, 2015. 3 pp. DAMTP-2015-49
e-Print: arXiv:1509.01147 [hep-th]
8.George and the Unbreakable Code. L. Hawking. S.W. Hawking. Jun 2014. ISBN-13: 978-0857533258
9.Information Preservation and Weather Forecasting for Black Holes. S.W. Hawking. Jan 2014. arXiv:1401.5761v1 [hep-th]
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This article was originally written in 2019 and has been updated to reflect TopCV's editorial guidelines as well as include a text copy of the CV for accessibility.