Professor Peter Haynes, Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, said:

Stephen Hawking has no plans to leave the University of Cambridge.

Stephen has made an enormously important contribution to the University over the last 40 years, both as a scientific leader in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and, more generally, as an inspirational communicator of science and mathematics to the wider public.
We expect this contribution to continue for several years to come.

The Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and the University of Cambridge are working together with Stephen Hawking to establish activities that continue his important contributions in the long term. A very promising start has already been achieved through the launch of The Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, supported generously by Dennis Avery and George Mitchell.

Stephen’s hope is that this will soon be established as the world’s leading centre for research in theoretical cosmology and indeed that, in due course, will expand into a large permanent institute for research into fundamental physics.

Having such an institute in Cambridge, continuing in the tradition of Newton, Maxwell, Dirac and Stephen Hawking himself would be a fitting legacy of Stephen’s long-standing contributions to Cambridge and to science.

The Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics will be very sorry to lose Neil Turok when he moves to become Director of the Perimeter Institute in October.

Neil has played an important role in setting the future agenda for theoretical physics in DAMTP and in establishing the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology. Professor Paul Shellard will succeed him as Director of the Centre.