Cliff Burgess, professor of physics & astronomy in the Faculty of Science, and cross-appointed to Waterloo's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, is enjoying the visit of Stephen Hawking, the world's most recognizable scientist. Professor Hawking is currently visiting the Perimeter Institute pursuing his research into the beginnings of the universe. The Daily News asked Burgess about his famous colleague.

Daily News: When was the first time you met Hawking?

Cliff Burgess: I first met him when I was a graduate student, and attended a summer school
at Les Houches in France. Stephen was there, I think with his family. In
those days he could still talk himself, although only those who were used to
him could understand what he was saying. He'd give his lectures with
simultaneous translation by one of his students or ex-students.
I'd then run into him occasionally at various meetings, and more recently
when visiting collaborators at Cambridge. But although I met him before, this week was my first actual conversation with him. I'd have preferred to have had it informally but the TVO people
asked at the last minute to film the conversation, and that gave the whole
thing something of a surreal air, at least until they finished.

DN: What did you two talk about?

CB: I told him about a paper we'd written recently to get his feedback on it.

DN: What's he like as a person?

CB: I cannot claim to know him at all well, but he seems to be very accessible. He must be very patient, given his physical difficulties communicating. He must also have enormous powers of concentration in order to do his work without the luxury of being able to write things down.

DN: Is there a sense of intimidation in dealing with someone with such an oversized reputation?

CB: There can sometimes be, but normally it passes once the conversation starts, since they are normal people. There is the odd exception, since there can be academics with some pretty big egos. But from what I know, Stephen is not one of these people.

DN: What's the work you're doing with him?

CB: We are not collaborating in the sense of writing papers together, although I expect he may well start some collaborations of this type while at PI. My interactions so far have consisted of bouncing some of our recent ideas off him for his insights. Our overlap of interests is cosmology, which is
the science of the very early universe.

DN: How does this work fit in with the Origins Institute at McMaster?

CB: Cosmology is a natural fit for the Origins program since it is all about the Mother of All Origins: that of the universe itself. It is called the “origins of space time” branch at the Institute. And McMaster is blessed to have a number of theoretical cosmologists, like James Wadsley and Hugh Couchman, as well as observers on whose information the entire field is founded, like Laura Parker. Additionally, some of us have cross appointments to the Perimeter, and Origins and Perimeter collaborate in a variety of ways.

DN: How many scientists are involved in the research?

CB: It is a very international business, with scientists working at institutions all over the world on both the experimental and observational sides of the problem. Stephen is a member of a large group at Cambridge, the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, which has several faculty members and numerous post-doctoral fellows and graduate students. Southern Ontario happens to be a local hotbed of activity. In addition to the university efforts, Perimeter is still building its efforts and has at present two other faculty, Latham Boyle and the director, Neil Turok, as well as around five post-doctoral fellows and many visitors. Toronto also hosts the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA), which has a large number of researchers.

DN: Can you tell us something about the TVO special?

CB: Stephen gives a televised lecture about how he got his start and other noteworthy things in his past. This is preceded by a welcoming ceremony involving a number of dignitaries, including the premier of Ontario, and by a mini documentary about the Perimeter Institute and Stephens first few days there.

Hawking at the Perimeter will be rebroadcast on TVO June 26 at 6 p.m., June 27 at 5 p.m. and July 6 at 10 p.m.

Stay connected