Hawking retiring from esteemed post

Cambridge University said Stephen Hawking will continue his academic work. (MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images)

CAMBRIDGE, England - Famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking will retire from his prestigious post at Cambridge University next year, but intends to continue his exploration of time and space.

Hawking, 66, is Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a title once held by the great mathematician-physicist Sir Isaac Newton. The university said yesterday that Hawking would step down at the end of the academic year in September, but would continue working as Emeritus Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

"We look forward to him continuing his academic work at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, playing a leading role in research in cosmology and gravitation," said professor Peter Haynes, who heads the department.

Hawking became a scientific celebrity through his theories on black holes and the nature of time, work that he carried on despite becoming paralyzed by motor neuron disease.

University policy is that officeholders must retire at the end of the academic year in which they become 67. Hawking will reach that milestone Jan. 8.

The Lucasian professorship post was founded in 1663 by Henry Lucas, who left his 4,000 books and land that was expected to yield 100 pounds a year to the university. King Charles II officially established the position in 1664.

Sir Isaac Newton was the second to hold the post. Paul Dirac, a specialist in quantum mechanics who predicted the existence of positron particles, held the title from 1932 to 1969.

Hawking was appointed to the chair in 1979.

Hawking first earned prominence for his theoretical work on black holes. Disproving the belief that black holes are so dense that nothing could escape their gravitational pull, he showed that black holes leak a tiny bit of light and other types of radiation.

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