The Royal Society:  Professor Stephen Hawking is to receive the world's oldest award for scientific achievement - the Royal Society's prestigious Copley medal - for his outstanding contribution to theoretical physics and theoretical cosmology it was announced today (24 August 2006).

In recognition of Stephen Hawking's work in cosmology, British born astronaut Piers Sellers carried the medal, due to be presented to Hawking later this year, with him on the recent Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

First awarded by the Royal Society in 1731, the Copley medal pre-dates the Nobel Prize by 170 years. It is awarded for outstanding achievements in scientific research and during its 275 year history, has been awarded to such scientific luminaries as Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein and Louis Pasteur.

Professor Hawking said: "This is a very distinguished medal. It was awarded to Darwin, Einstein and Crick.  I am honoured to be in their company." 

British astronaut, Piers Sellers said: "Stephen Hawking is a definitive hero to all of us involved in exploring the Cosmos. His contribution to science is unique and he serves as a continuous inspiration to every thinking person. It was an honour for the crew of the STS-121 mission to fly his medal into space. We think that this is particularly appropriate as Stephen has dedicated his life to thinking about the larger Universe."
 

The space-travelled Copley medal

The crew of STS-121 carried the Copley medal into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in July, 2006. The astronauts kept the medal with them in the Shuttle middeck throughout the mission, including the nine days they were docked with the International Space Station.

Stephen Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. His work has been essential in understanding and classifying black holes. He has also made an exceptional contribution to the popularisation of his subject, authoring four popular-science books including "A Brief History of Time" and "The Universe in a Nutshell".

Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, said: "Stephen Hawking has contributed as much as anyone since Einstein to our understanding of gravity. This medal is a fitting recognition of an astonishing research career spanning more than 40 years.

"I wish to express my gratitude to Piers Sellers and the crew of the STS-121 for taking the medal with them their mission and marking the 275th anniversary of this eminent scientific award."

The medal will be awarded to Professor Hawking on the 30 November at the Society's annual Anniversary Day, commemorating the foundation of the Society in 1660.

Exclusive images of Piers Sellers aboard the Shuttle are available from the Royal Society press office.

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has named Richard O. Buckius, professor of mechanical engineering and former head of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), as the new NSF assistant director for engineering. Buckius has been serving as acting assistant director since Sept. 1, 2005, and assumes his new role for a 2-year term beginning Sept. 15, 2006.

An expert in thermal sciences, Buckius joined the UIUC faculty in 1975, and was promoted to professor in 1984. He also served as the associate head of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from 1985 to 1987 and as associate vice chancellor for research from 1988 to 1991. He received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to serving as acting assistant director for engineering at NSF, Buckius led NSF's Thermal Systems and Engineering Program and the Division of Chemical and Transport Systems from 2004 to 2005.

"As acting assistant director for engineering, Richard Buckius demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication to the foundation," said NSF Director Arden L. Bement, Jr. "We look forward to his continued vision and support of education, research, discovery and innovation."

Buckius has gained an international reputation for leadership in the field of thermal sciences, authoring over 80 journal articles and a textbook on thermodynamics. He has played an active role disseminating engineering knowledge as both an educator and in editorial roles for the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer,the AIAA Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, Microscale Thermophysical Engineering, Heat Transfer Research and Heat Transfer-Japanese Research.

Buckius brings to his position an appreciation for the importance of engineering education. He has taught at all undergraduate and graduate levels, and has repeatedly been honored at the local and national level for teaching excellence. In 1980, he was recognized with the highest honor bestowed on educators on the UIUC campus, the UIUC Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (now called the Luckman award).

He has received the W.L. Everitt Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, the UIUC College of Engineering Halliburton Engineering Education Leadership Award, the Stanley H. Pierce Faculty Award for promoting empathy between students and faculty, and on six occasions, the alumni's Effective Teaching Award.

Nationally, Buckius' teaching earned him the American Society for Engineering Education Dow Outstanding Young Faculty Award, ASEE Western Electric Fund Award and the 2003 ASEE Ralph Coats Roe Award for "sustained teaching excellence at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, significant research contributions to radiation heat transfer and combustion, exemplary professional service and outstanding administrative leadership."

Recently, Buckius received the 2006 James Harry Potter Gold Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, which recognizes eminent achievement "in the science of thermodynamics in mechanical engineering."

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Joshua A. Chamot, NSF (703) 292-7730 jchamot@nsf.gov

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