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Stephen Hawking

by Johnny

Stephen Hawking: Cosmologist (https://www.facebook.com/stephenhawking/photos/a.7 (Jaime Travezan))
Stephen Hawking: Cosmologist (https://www.facebook.com/stephenhawking/photos/a.7 (Jaime Travezan))

Stephen Hawking is truly a hero. He has struggled with the debilitating disease, ALS since college, but he hasn't let it slow him down. He continues to make great contributions to the world while struggling with severe physical adversity. He has a fairly normal family, having three children, Lucy, Timothy, and Robert from two marriages. He is a world-renowned cosmologist with an IQ of 160. He has published many books and theories and has won numerous awards for both. Even with his physical challenges, Stephen Hawking has managed to make it to a place that most others can only dream of. In fact, beginning next week, he will be participating in his own reality TV show, "Genius by Stephen Hawking". This hard-working genius is my hero and is influential for intellects, handicapped people and regular people alike. He makes us all strive to be more.

Stephen Hawking is extremely determined. He makes ground-breaking discoveries in cosmology, despite his inability to move his body or speak without assistance. He continues to regularly give speeches with the help of a computer driven voice, even though an emergency tracheotomy resulted in his inability to speak. After college, with the help of a speech synthesizer, he gave lectures at Caltech. He has become an icon, being featured in Simpsons episodes and having many documentaries made about his life. He is a household name. Stephen has managed to have a fairly normal life, despite living with ALS. Despite the effort required because of his physical limitations, he constantly strives to not let this get in his way.

Dr. Hawking is absolutely brilliant. He was accepted to Oxford at seventeen, and went on to study at Cambridge University. He finished school with a doctorate in Cosmology from Cambridge. But, he wasn't done yet. He decided to teach mathematics at Cambridge and took the position of Director of Research at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), a position previously held by Sir Isaac Newton. What makes him really special is that he has previously written books that only professional cosmologists can understand, but he has also written books for the general public and some for children. His IQ makes him a genius, but Stephen Hawking is brilliant in ways beyond just his intelligence.

By applying his superior intelligence and dedication, Dr. Hawking has become very awarded and influential. As an author, his topics have ranged from theories on time and the beginning of the universe, to the insides of black holes. Stephen has received countless awards for his discoveries such as the Albert Einstein Medal, the Wolf Prize in Physics, the Copley Medal, the Albert Einstein Award, and the Adams Prize, just to name a few. He founded the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge University, and is the Principal Investigator of the COSMOS Supercomputer. He is also a big advocate against the development of AI (artificial intelligence), saying that it could bring about mankind's end by evolving at an unimaginable speed. His influence does not stop there. He appeared as himself in the Simpsons, did a voiceover of Pink Floyd's "Keep Talking," and is going to be on the flagship flight of Sir Richard Branson's SpaceX project. Finally, he made a one hundred million dollar dollar deal with Russian Entrepreneur, Yuri Milner to search for extraterrestrial life. His contributions to science and mankind are wide ranging.

My hero is Stephen Hawking. He is truly something special. He is an anti-AI advocate, has earned 16 scientific awards, written 25 different books, and is still working hard at age 74. All of this has been accomplished despite having a disease which is physically debilitating in many ways. He is an extremely inspiring human and a success story. No matter what your opinion is about Dr. Hawking's theories and beliefs, we can all agree that he is an undeniably determined, brilliant, and influential man: someone who defines the word "hero"!

Page created on 5/18/2016 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/18/2016 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Bibliography

Editors, Biography.com. "Stephen Hawking Biography." [Online] Available http://www.biography.com/people/stephen-hawking-9331710.

Travezan, Travezan. "Stephen Hawking". 2014.