・これは、2018年3月16日にジャーナリスト向けに発行したサイエンス・アラートです。

・記事の引用は自由ですが、末尾の注意書きもご覧下さい。

＜海外SMC発サイエンス・アラート＞

理論物理学者のスティーブン・ホーキング氏が死去

筋萎縮性側索硬化症(ALS)という難病を抱えながらも研究や講演を続けてきた、英国の理論物理学者スティーブン・ホーキング氏が、3月14日に亡くなりました。76歳でした。1977年よりケンブリッジ大学の教授を務め、ブラックホールや宇宙誕生についての独創的な理論を展開。一方で、一般向けの著書も多く残しました。心より御冥福をお祈りいたします。この件についての海外専門家コメント（原文）をお送りします。

Prof Philip Nelson

Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Chair of the Research Councils

原文 

“Stephen Hawking was a truly remarkable scientist who contributed enormously to our understanding of the universe. The world has lost one of its greatest thinkers. His work, determination and resilience, will continue to be an inspiration to researchers everywhere.”

Prof Christopher Shaw

Head of the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience and Director of the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

原文

"Stephen Hawking was an 'outliers outlier', both in terms of his extraordinary contribution to science and the time he survived with motor neuron disease. The experience for most people with MND, sadly is very different, but we are making remarkable progress in understanding disease mechanisms and testing new therapies that I believe will make a positive impact in the near future."

Prof Ammar Al-Chalabi

Director of the King’s MND Care and Research Centre, King's College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

原文 

“Prof Hawking was inspirational in being defined by his enormous scientific achievements, not his disability. On average, someone with ALS (also known as MND) lives about 2-3 years from first symptoms. About 5% of people live more than 10 years, and a very small percentage live for much longer, but this is very unusual. This variation in survival is well known and there does not seem to be a very reliable way of predicting who will have a slow form of the disease and who will have a fast form, although there are a few rough guidelines.”

Prof Sir Venki Ramakrishnan

President of the Royal Society

原文

 

“Stephen Hawking overcame unimaginable challenges to become one of the most influential and renowned scientists of our time. His life is a testament to the power of human creativity and imagination. He was elected a Fellow to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32. He was also exceptional in his ability to connect with and inspire the public the world over. That he achieved all of this despite a long battle with motor neurone disease will serve as an inspiration to all. He will be sorely missed.”

Prof Paul Hardaker

Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics

原文

 

“It’s sad to hear the news that Stephen has passed away. A quite remarkable physicist and certainly a remarkable person. He made several fundamental and lasting contributions to cosmology but is probably best known by the public for his passion and enthusiasm in sharing his knowledge of how the universe works. It was a pleasure to have known him and we will very much miss him. Our best wishes are with Stephen’s family.”

Imran Khan, Head of Public Engagement

Wellcome Trust

原文 

“Stephen Hawking could be called one of brilliant scientists of our time just for his research – but thanks to his brilliant communication, he also showed that science can and should be done in public, making it part of our shared culture and imagination. He’ll be hugely missed.” 

Prof David Wands

Director of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, was a student at Cambridge and had lectures from Stephen

原文 

“Stephen Hawking was one of the great scientists of our time. He had the ambition and the ability to tackle fundamental questions about gravity and quantum mechanics, their role in black holes and the origin of the universe. He realised that black holes can emit radiation, which we now call Hawking radiation, which eventually leads them to evaporate. He also discovered that the same quantum effect in the very early universe can lead to small fluctuations in the density of the hot thermal plasma, a fraction of a second after the big bang, and this could lead to all the structures that we observe in the cosmos around us, galaxies, stars and, ultimately planets and people.


“He was a huge inspiration to me personally when I was a student at Cambridge. At the time he was just writing the first draft of his book "A Brief History of Time" and he gave a series of lectures for undergraduates. The lectures were optional, not part of any exam, but we turned out in droves to hear him speak. Sitting on the steps in the lecture theatre to hear the words of the great man. He was already a celebrity in Cambridge but he soon became a global phenomenon.

 I was also lucky enough to attend several scientific meetings which Hawking organised in Cambridge, where many of the world's leading scientists would gather to present their work argue about science and enjoy Stephen's hospitality. Last year he celebrated his 75th birthday with a series of talks, but also a reception back at his house where he opened his home to scientists from around the world.”

Katherine Mathieson

Chief Executive of the British Science Association

原文 

“The staff and trustees of the British Science Association are saddened to hear of the death of Stephen Hawking.

“He was a true genius who had a great admiration of and connection to the public. Most people, when he published ‘A Brief History of Time’, would have thought a book about physics would not sell. But Stephen knew people would want to read it – and it turned out they did. He simplified and explained, but without gimmicks. His assumption that people are curious about the universe and black holes was true. He inspired us all to wonder.

“In turn, he was hugely admired by the public. This widespread admiration led brilliantly to his breaking down of the perceived boundaries between popular culture and science.

“Importantly, he showed that disability and difference are no barriers to success; he challenged perceptions. On a personal note, I remember him – from when I was a student at his University – speeding down the middle of the road to get around, because the pavements were too bumpy. It sent out a message that ‘it doesn’t matter what you look like, you can be a scientist here’. 

“He will be sadly missed.

Sir Paul Nurse

Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute

原文 

“Stephen Hawking was a great physicist, a great public communicator, and a great icon for science and rationalism throughout the world.  He will be sorely missed.”

Prof Lord Martin Rees

Astronomer Royal, Fellow of Trinity College, and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge

原文 

“Soon after I enrolled as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964, I encountered a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty. This was Stephen Hawking. He had recently been diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and it was thought that he might not survive long enough even to finish his PhD. But, amazingly, he lived on to the age of 76.

Even mere survival would have been a medical marvel, but of course he didn’t just survive.  He became one of the most famous scientists in the world– acclaimed as a world-leading researcher in mathematical physics, for his best-selling books about space, time and the cosmos, and for his astonishing triumph over adversity.

Tragedy struck Stephen Hawking when he was only 22. He was diagnosed with a deadly disease, and his expectations dropped to zero. He himself said that everything that happened since then was a bonus. And what a triumph his life has been. His name will live in the annals of science; millions have had their cosmic horizons widened by his best-selling books; and even more, around the world, have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds – a manifestation of amazing will-power and determination.”

記事のご利用にあたって

マスメディア、ウェブを問わず、科学の問題を社会で議論するために継続して
メディアを利用して活動されているジャーナリストの方、本情報をぜひご利用下さい。
「サイエンス・アラート」「ホット・トピック」のコンセプトに関してはコチラをご覧下さい。

記事の更新や各種SMCからのお知らせをメール配信しています。

サイエンス・メディア・センターでは、このような情報をメールで直接お送りいたします。ご希望の方は、下記リンクからご登録ください。（登録は手動のため、反映に時間がかかります。また、上記下線条件に鑑み、広義の「ジャーナリスト」と考えられない方は、登録をお断りすることもありますが御了承下さい。ただし、今回の緊急時に際しては、このようにサイトでも全ての情報を公開していきます）【メディア関係者データベースへの登録】 http://smc-japan.org/?page_id=588

記事について

○ 私的／商業利用を問わず、記事の引用（二次利用）は自由です。ただし「ジャーナリストが社会に論を問うための情報ソース」であることを尊重してください（アフィリエイト目的の、記事丸ごとの転載などはお控え下さい）。

○ 二次利用の際にクレジットを入れて頂ける場合（任意）は、下記のいずれかの形式でお願いします：
・一般社団法人サイエンス・メディア・センター　・（社）サイエンス・メディア・センター
・（社）SMC　　・SMC-Japan.org

○ この情報は適宜訂正・更新を行います。ウェブで情報を掲載・利用する場合は、読者が最新情報を確認できるようにリンクをお願いします。

お問い合わせ先

○この記事についての問い合わせは「御意見・お問い合わせ」のフォーム、あるいは下記連絡先からお寄せ下さい：
一般社団法人 サイエンス・メディア・センター（日本）　Tel/Fax: 03-3202-2514