CANCELLED: Prof. Stephen Hawking to speak at Leibniz Universität

The pioneer of astrophysics will give a public lecture on quantum black holes

May 17, 2016

If you would like the chance to hear a live talk by one of the most brilliant scientists of our time, you can do so on Thursday, 26 May 2016, at the Leibniz Universität Hannover. Prof. Stephen Hawking will be attending a conference for gravitational wave researchers in Hannover and give a talk at 6 p.m. in the atrium of the Welfenschloss on “Quantum Black Holes”. The astrophysicist will give the talk in English. If the atrium is full, the talk will also be broadcast live in some of the university’s large lecture theatres. Attendance is free, but there is only a limited number of spaces available in both the atrium and the lecture theatres. Entry is therefore only possible upon presentation of a ticket.

Update on 19th May: On the advice of his doctors, Prof. Stephen Hawking has cancelled his trip to Hannover and his public lecture due to health reasons.

Tickets will be allocated on Thursday, 19 May, and on Friday, 20 May, between 2p.m. and 7p.m. in the atrium of the Leibniz Universität (while tickets are available). Once all tickets for the atrium have been assigned, tickets will then be issued for the live broadcast in the lecture theatres. As there is a chance that the talk will be cancelled for health reasons, ticket holders are asked to regularly check www.uni-hannover.de for updates. This will be updated immediately should Stephen Hawking have to cancel at short notice. The site will also contain information on ticket allocation.

Representatives from the media are welcome to attend the talk. Registration is possible up until Friday, 20 May 2016, by mailing  or by calling +49 511 762 5342. Unfortunately, attendance without prior registration is not possible.

When? Thursday, 26 May 2016, 6p.m.; admission from 5p.m. (free choice of seats)

Where? Leibniz Universität Hannover, atrium, Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover; live feed to lecture theatres Audimax, Großer Physikhörsaal and E001 (Welfenschloss, access exclusively via the side entrance on the right)

Admission? Free admission, but presentation of ticket required: ticket allocation on Thursday 19 and on Friday 20 May 2016, between 2p.m. and 7p.m. at Leibniz Universität Hannover, atrium, Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover; ticket allocation while tickets available (two tickets per person)

Web?  www.uni-hannover.de

74-year-old Stephen Hawking will be travelling to Germany on the invitation of Bruce Allen, Honorary Professor of the Leibniz Universität and Director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Hannover. Prof. Allen, who earned his doctorate under Stephen Hawking, is delighted that the scientist, who suffers from ALS, can attend the conference in Hannover.

“We are honoured that Stephen Hawking would like to give a talk at the university during his trip,” says Prof. Volker Epping, President of Leibniz Universität.

Stephen Hawking held the renowned Lucasian Chair for Mathematics at the University of Cambridge from 1979 to 2009. Here he carried out important work on cosmology, the General Theory of Relativity and on the physics of black holes. His popular science books on modern physics made him a household name. The theoretical physicist was involved in a number of films and TV programmes and enjoys expressing his political views. In 1963, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which made him reliant on a wheelchair and caused him to lose his ability to speak. He communicates via a computer with a voice synthesiser, which is controlled by his eye movements.

As Stephen Hawking’s health may make it necessary to cancel events on short notice, all updates can be obtained at www.uni-hannover.de.

For further information, please contact Mechtild Freiin v. Münchhausen, Head of the Department for Communication and Marketing and press spokesperson for the Leibniz Universität Hannover at +49 511 762 5342 or by e-mail to .

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