HAWKING HONOURED AT NYC SCIENCE GALA
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Luminaries from the fields of physics, opera, poetry, theater, music and dance gathered in New York to pay tribute to British physicist Stephen Hawking on 3rd June with performances and speeches at a gala in his honour.
After outliving his predicted death from his degenerative disease by more than 40 years, Hawking told the audience filling Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall that he is thinking about what he will leave behind.
“As scientists, we step on the shoulders of science, building on the work that has come before us - aiming to inspire a new generation of young scientists to continue once we are gone,” Hawking told the crowd with the help of an electronic speech synthesizer: “I am proud to have played a small role in this great society.”
The gala merging the arts and science was the kickoff event for this year’s World Science Festival, a five-day gathering meant to bring some of the universe’s most complex topics to the masses. “It really seems strange to me, that with all that is known about science, with all that is known by science about the universe, so little of it reaches us in the general public,” actor and science buff Alan Alda said in his welcome speech, calling the resulting ignorance a “dangerous darkness.”
In introducing Hawking, friend and fellow physicist James B.Hartle told the audience that the public’s image of the nearly paralyzed Hawking as a lone figure trapped by physical limitations is false. Instead, he said, Hawking, who is best known for his work explaining the physics of black holes, has been surrounded by former students and built collaborative relationships with colleagues.
Above all, Hartle said, Hawking is able to see past mental clutter, discard assumptions and catch hold of undiscovered truths. Even Hartle’s brief discussion of the nature of time before the Big Bang seemed to appeal to an audience with enough geek power that they applauded for a “Star Trek: The Next Generation” clip that featured Hawking and laughed with recognition as Broadway singers launched into a song about a calculus equation.
The evening also featured the premiere of “Icarus at the Edge of Time”, an orchestral work composed by Philip Glass and based on the children’s book by celebrity physicist and festival co-founder Brian Greene.
The cautionary tale about the dangers and wonders of reaching out for new knowledge follows a spacefaring teenager as he journeys to the edge of a black hole, only to find that thousands of years have passed when he returns.
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamilnadu Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi placing Floral wreath at the memorial of Thanthai Periyar on 3-6-2010 on the occasion of his 87th birthday.
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi signing on 2-6-2010 the documents donating his house at Gopalapuram to be used as a hospital under a Trust.
His Excellency Vice- President of India, M. Hamid Ansari, released 12 books of Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi translated into English in a function held at the Centenary Auditorium of Madras University on 31-5-2010
His Excellency Nikolov A. Lisbovakov, Consul General of Russian Federation for South India laid foundation stone for the building of the College of Education at Periyar Maniammai University, Vallam, Thanjavur on 31-5-2010
Dravidar Kazhagam undertook the agitation of stopping trains at district headquarters throughout Tamil Nadu demanding the Central Government to impelement the Sethu Samudram Canal Project immediately without any further delay and thousands courted arrest. Dr.K.Veeramani, President led the agitation at Chennai in which the members of Popular Front of India and Samajwadi Party also took part
Hon’b le T.P.M. Mohideen Khan, Minister for Sports and Environment of Tamil Nadu laid the foundation stone for the building of Periyar Centre at Rayagiri of Tirunelveli District on 21-5-2010. Five Acres of land was donated by the villagers for the PSRPI Trust.
