Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking has been appointed PI Distinguished Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Canada. The world-famous cosmologist will conduct regular stays at the institute, which is headed by his former Cambridge University colleague Neil Turok. Hawking’s first stint in Waterloo is expected to begin in summer 2009.

Hawking, who is due to retire as Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge next year when he turns 67, will however retain links with Cambridge. "I look forward to building a growing partnership between PI and our Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge," he says. "Our research endeavour is global, and by combining forces I believe we will reap rich rewards."

Second research home

Hawking is the first of what are expected to be 40 such appointments to the PI, which was founded in 1999 by Mike Lazaridis, chief executive of Research in Motion — the company that makes Blackberry wireless handheld devices. “The appointment marks a new phase in our recruitment that will see leading scientists from around the world establish a second 'research home' at Perimeter Institute”, says Turok.

The PI is home to more than 60 resident researchers and focuses on fundamental questions in areas such as cosmology, particle physics, quantum gravity and quantum information.