20th June 2018 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Up to 50 “exceptional” students will be given financial support over the next 5 years in honour of Stephen Hawking who lost his battle with motor neurone disease earlier this year. Reported on the BBC, ten fellowships per year will be awarded to students studying maths, physics and computer science until 2024. Hawking’s family said that it was a “great tribute to his life in science”.
The minister for science, Sam Gyimah, thinks that the fellowships will allow these students to take their work further, and continue in any UK institution for 3 years. He said “I can think of no more fitting tribute to this great man than to support the next generation to push the boundaries of knowledge of the laws that govern our universe.”
The awards have been created by consulting Hawking’s family who said that he knew the value that fellowships like these add to research projects. The professor was always interested in developing new talent and devoted much of his career to teaching alongside his own research. They said “we are thrilled that these fellowships will be named after him and see this as a great tribute to his life in science.”