Question 1: How has Stephen Hawking's life changed since the disease over took him and has it made any changes to his interest

in cosmology?

• The disease confined him to a wheelchair• Diagnosed at 21, in 1963• Lost control of almost all muscles • Speech deteriorated • pneumonia and a tracheotomy left him able to converse

or write only by signaling when someone pointed to a list of words, letters, or items.

(“Stephen Hawking”)• His disease has not affected his interest in cosmology

although it has made it more difficult for him to go about completing his research on his own.

• The disease does not affect his brain, only his muscles• Stephen Hawking was determined to continue his

research despite his medical condition• Mind still functions at its highest levels (“Stephen Hawking: A Biography”)

Question 2: How do the medical problems Stephen

Hawking has limit how much he can do and how much he can

be involved in his own research?

• Stephen Hawking has to use a computer to talk since he lost his voice permanently due to his disease.

• He must depend on his co-researchers to do the

physical work for him.(“Stephen Hawking: A Biography”) • Stephen Hawking must speak to write his books• He can not physically do any of his work, he can

only think it and speak it through a synthesizer• Completely dependent on electronics to

communicate and do his work

(“Stephen Hawking BBC”)

Question 6: How many times a day does he need medical

assistance and for what problems?

• Around the clock care• UK has kept him alive on breathing, feeding, and

speech machines• Has a 40 person medical team taking care of

him(“why his ALS is not fatal”)• Has needed around the clock care since he

caught pneumonia in 1985• Death can be caused by collapse of throat

muscles• Some scientists are studying Hawking’s disease

for genetic mutations(“Newsvine”)

Question 3: How does Stephen Hawking talk through his

computer?

• Computer generated voice• Depends on an advanced voice synthesizer• “DECtalk DTCO1 voice synthesizer, which was a

revolutionary technology based on an algorithm written by MIT student Dennis Klatt in the early 1980s”

• Predictive text program that predicts words formed by cheek muscles

(Pilgrim)• Takes him a few minutes to complete what he wants to

say before the synthesizer repeats his words• “switched on to the NeoSpeech's Voice Text speech

synthesizer”• Stephen Hawking believes his current synthesizer is the

most natural and easy to use speech technology• Also uses technology for phone calls, e-mail, etc.(Hanlon)

Question 4: How does Stephen Hawking represent his time period?

• In the time Stephen Hawking was born, there were a lot of questions about the universe being presented

• There were many studies regarding dark matter and black holes

• His modern studies in science have “turned yesterdays science fiction into today’s science fact”

• Currently sits in the seat of Sir Isaac Newton, representing the importance of science to the modern world at Royal Society

(“Stephen Hawking-Important”)• Due to him being bale to survive ALS disease, it has

earned him a high reputation and considered to be one of the greatest minds of today

(Jules)

Question 5: How many cosmological research

investigations has Stephen Hawking done and what are the main themes of his research?

• Stephen Hawking has written 5 books and has 212 publications to date

• He focuses mainly on the concepts of gravity, black holes, and worm holes

(“Stephen Hawking-home”)• Main focus in general after obtaining PhD was the basic

laws that govern the universe.• Between 1970 and 1974, began to focus on black holes

(“Stephen Hawking-important”)

Question 7: What awards has Stephen Hawking received and

how many?

• He has won 15 awards to date• Received awards for achievements' in

cosmology, physics, mathematics and theoretical cosmology

(“Stephen Hawking Biography”)• He was integrated into the Royal Society• Biggest honor he received was the introduction

to the Royal society• Received most awards at society

(“Lucasian Chair”)

•

Question #8What are some future research projects Hawking plans to do?

• Wants to investigate time and how it works and if we can use it to our advantage

• Stephen Hawking is looking to construct a working time machine

• (Hawking)

• Believes that the earth is disposable and humans need to find a way to expand into space

(“open the Future”)