WATERLOO — Waterloo Region's scientists working at the frontiers of theoretical physics and quantum technology have lost one of their biggest cheerleaders — the iconic, irreplaceable Stephen Hawking.

Hawking, who died at his home in Cambridge, England, early on Wednesday at age 76, helped tell the world about the work being done here to solve the mysteries of the universe.

His death is being mourned locally by researchers, former colleagues and students who were inspired by his scientific contributions.

Hawking's significant star power raised the international profile of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

In research visits and partnerships, he endorsed their missions and collaborated with their brightest minds.

When Perimeter opened the Stephen Hawking Centre, the only building in the world to bear his name, the renowned physicist said Waterloo Region was gathering the ingredients for historic scientific breakthroughs.

"The importance of special places and special times, where magical progress can happen, cannot be overstated. I am hoping, and expecting, great things will happen here," the wheelchair-bound scientist said at the time.

Hawking, who was a distinguished visiting research chair at Perimeter, celebrated the local institute as a "grand experiment in theoretical physics" exploring the questions that were closest to his heart.

"He was an incredible scientist who has changed the way we think about the universe. His work will continue to inspire scientists all over the world, and generations for years to come," said Raymond Laflamme, the former director of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC).

Hawking was a close collaborator and friend with Perimeter director Neil Turok, who like Laflamme once worked with him at the University of Cambridge.

"Stephen's life was heroic, in so many ways," Turok said.

"He was a brilliant visionary in theoretical physics, setting an incredibly bold agenda for the field ... He combined this with extraordinary personal warmth, an acute sense of humour, a deep love for people and for sharing good times together."

Turok's institute benefited immensely from its association with Hawking. The physicist personally endorsed its Centre for the Universe and the creation of a fellowship program named after him for young theoretical cosmologists.

Years earlier, when Turok first told Hawking about an upstart institute in Waterloo that was devoted exclusively to studying the origins of the universe, "his eyes just lit up."

"Stephen's passing is a very sad day for physics and for humankind. His spirit will live on in all of us who knew him, as we aspire, with all our hearts, to perpetuate the many wonderful human qualities he embodied," Turok said.

Hawking's endorsements gave Waterloo's research institutes recognition as world-class centres, helping draw top scientific talent here, Laflamme said.

In 2012, on a return visit to celebrate the opening of the University of Waterloo's Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum Nano Centre, Hawking said it was clear to him "this place is special."

For four years in the 1980s, Laflamme worked closely with Hawking at the University of Cambridge while he earned his PhD.

Hawking's motor neuron disease meant Laflamme was partially responsible for his personal, hands-on care — carrying the famous scientist to and from his wheelchair and looking after his basic needs.

"It was not a typical PhD student-supervisor relationship," said Laflamme, who's now the Mike & Ophelia John von Neumann Chair in Quantum Information at the IQC. "Here I was carrying my supervisor in my arms."

Laflamme's lasting impressions are of a kind, brilliant man who never lost his sense of humour even as his physical capabilities diminished.

When Laflamme showed up at Cambridge one day in a shirt he had sewn himself, Hawking couldn't stop poking fun at him.

"When I think of Stephen, I think of that grin after he's just teased someone," Laflamme said.

Hawking credited Laflamme with changing his mind while writing his bestselling book "A Brief History of Time," byshowing Hawking the matharound his theory about what happens to time in a contracting universe didn't add up.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

It became a running joke between the two.

"Stephen inspired me, taught me how to do physics and how to be a human being," Laflamme said.

"Despite his disability, he had a great sense of humour and was able to do incredible things to inspire a lot of people. He was an inspiration for overcoming our challenges, to keep going, to always be kind to the people around us."

Hawking visited both IQC and Perimeter several times, and collaborated with Perimeter researchers and students.

When he came to Waterloo Region in 2010, he was treated like a celebrity, visiting the St. Jacobs farmers market, African Lion Safari and local restaurants, and giving a televised lecture on TVO.

Hawking's impact on pop culture was significant.

Few astrophysicists are household names, yet he appeared on everything from TV's "The Big Bang Theory" to "Star Trek," while inspiring the writers of "The Simpsons."

A natural communicator, he understood the importance of sharing complex scientific ideas with the masses, Laflamme said.

Hawking's contributions to theoretical physics are immense, from his prediction that black holes emit radiation to his ideas about the beginning of the universe to his work on general relativity and quantum theory.

After being told in 1963 he had just two years to live, Hawking struggled for decades with declining mobility and the loss of his voice. But his physical limitations couldn't touch his brilliant mind, as he helped popularize the field of modern cosmology through his writing and work.

His influence in science was so big that he seemed to energize anyone who worked near him, said Luis Lehner, faculty chair at Perimeter Institute.

"His groundbreaking results serve as keystones on many of the exciting directions currently being pursued.

"His continuing to push the boundaries of knowledge despite all odds served as an inspiration to everyone around him and this was very palpable at all levels, from students to faculty and staff, every time he visited Perimeter," Lehner said.

gmercer@therecord.com, Twitter: @MercerRecord

- Stephen Hawking was no stranger to Canada