Prof receives honorary degree
MAKHANDA: “EVERY person must decide whether he or she will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
This was the message professor emeritus George Ellis delivered to inspire graduates as he was honoured with a Doctor of Laws from Rhodes University.
“I am delighted to receive an honorary degree from Rhodes University, which is such an illustrious institution with such a proud history,” he said.
Ellis is an internationally renowned academic, researcher and author who made stellar contributions in general relativity, cosmology, theoretical physics and policy. He authored and co-authored 16 books, including The Large Scale Structure of Space Time with the late great physicist Stephen Hawking.
Ellis also took up policy research in his bid to shape public policy. His areas of focus were housing, science, maths, education and quality of life measures.
“Are we concerned just with our own welfare, or with the welfare of others? This is the key individual choice we all make: to live selfish or selfless lives. And if we choose just to work for our own welfare, we won’t contribute to making this country a better place.”
Ellis said science had the ability to change the world.
“James Clerk Maxwell discovered the way that electricity and magnetism work together to create light, and this led to the recognition of the possibility of radio signals and so the existence of radio and television, iPhones and GPS systems. This will continue to be the basis of radio technology for all time.”