Stephen Hawking, the acclaimed physicist whose work defied conventional conceptualization and which led to a much deeper understanding of the extreme forces of the cosmos, passed on March 14, 2018 (Einstein’s birthday, as many have noted) at the age of 76.
Remembrances have been pouring in from Hawking’s contemporaries across a variety of fields, from those who worked with him, to those inspired by him, to those who depicted him, and to those who just…kind of had fun messing around with him.
From the field of physics
An inspiring story from Dr. Katherine J. Mack:
You’ll read about it in all the obituaries, but I should reiterate that Hawking’s influence on theoretical physics, and on our understanding of the cosmos, was massive. The ideas he put forth continue to show us new avenues of discovery.
— Katie Mack (@AstroKatie) March 14, 2018
20 years after A Brief History of Time was published, I spent a year studying and researching at Cambridge University in the theoretical cosmology group as a visiting graduate student. I don't have many photos, but here I am at Hawking's Christmas dinner. pic.twitter.com/4MJ8ZpaGzd
— Katie Mack (@AstroKatie) March 14, 2018
From theoretical physicist Dr. Brian Greene:
We mourn the passing of Stephen Hawking. With grace, wit and courage, his genius took us all to very edge of space and time. pic.twitter.com/nM33NIvbH5
— Brian Greene (@bgreene) March 14, 2018
From Neil deGrasse Tyson:
His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it's not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure. Stephen Hawking, RIP 1942-2018. pic.twitter.com/nAanMySqkt
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) March 14, 2018
From the entertainment media
As we near Pi day (3.14) I join the global community in mourning the loss of the greatest physicist of our era. #StephenHawking is free from the physical constraints of this earthly condition we all exist in and he is soaring above us now marveling at it all. pic.twitter.com/o3V0TZrppj
— Mayim Bialik (@missmayim) March 14, 2018
Stephen Hawking was a brilliant man, but he was also an incredibly funny man. It was a huge privilege to waste some of his time, and I'll never forget the twinkle in his eye here …https://t.co/xUmm2qIAiN
— John Oliver (@iamjohnoliver) March 14, 2018
Farewell Stephen Hawking. A great man. Honored to have spent time with him. RIP.
— Brent Spiner (@BrentSpiner) March 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/Marina_Sirtis/status/973925366065582082
RIP to one of our funniest guest stars #StephenHawking pic.twitter.com/ROLSaP9BC9
— Jonathan Frakes (@jonathansfrakes) March 14, 2018
From world leaders…
Have fun out there among the stars. pic.twitter.com/S285MTwGtp
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 14, 2018
Stephen Hawking's historic breakthroughs in science advanced humanity’s understanding of the universe even as the extraordinarily courageous life he led inspired us all. He will be greatly missed and will never be forgotten.
— Al Gore (@algore) March 14, 2018
…who also teamed up with Hawking to form the Vice Presidential Action Rangers (Futurama)
And speaking of fun pop culture that Hawking was always game for
The New York Times, “6 Memorable Cultural Moments Inspired by Stephen Hawking”:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/arts/stephen-hawking-culture.html
Motherboard: “Stephen Hawking Finally Won One of His Famous Bets”
You’re going to read a lot of deep, loving tributes to Stephen Hawking from smarter people than myself. But I’d like to remind you about that time Hawking proved time travel isn’t possible by throwing a party for them and no one showed. pic.twitter.com/zkTnb92jyR
— Eric Francisco (@EricFrancisco24) March 14, 2018
