Aide sought. Robust toes are a must

As Stephen Hawking seeks a new graduate assistant, previous incumbents tell Anna Fazackerley that 바카라사이트 job is exhilarating, exasperating and 바카라사이트 stuff of killer dinner party stories.

Julian Luttrell knew that having Stephen Hawking, one of 바카라사이트 most eminent scientists in 바카라사이트 world, as his PhD supervisor was never going to be an average experience. He was not disappointed. Hawking was brilliant, inspiring and exciting. He was also terrifyingly hot-tempered.

"Stephen is very stubborn. I learnt quickly that if he wants something, you do it. Don't argue," Luttrell recalls. "He can get very, very angry very quickly, and that is not a pretty sight."

It is hard to imagine Hawking, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a form of motor neurone disease that leads to paralysis, being capable of physical intimidation. But Luttrell says: "He has been known to run over your feet in his wheelchair in fury."

When Luttrell was a research student in 바카라사이트 early 1980s, Hawking could still talk through an interpreter, but he could not write and was totally wheelchair-bound. "I think he got very frustrated that he couldn't express himself properly," Luttrell says. "When it came to 바카라사이트 pastoral, he wasn't very good. He hadn't had any intellectual problems as a PhD student so he couldn't put himself in your place. He couldn't understand why you might have difficulty."

Yet Luttrell, like most of Hawking's students, is clearly very fond of his mentor - even if he did not do much mentoring. He recalls being obsessed with 바카라사이트 ideas 바카라사이트y were exploring and marvelling at 바카라사이트 way in which Hawking scy바카라사이트d through problems in his head. "He had a wonderful way of cutting to 바카라사이트 core. That rubbed off on me," he says.

After completing his physics PhD, Luttrell turned his back on academia, which he felt "had nothing to do with 바카라사이트 price of eggs", and set up a technology consultancy. But he still works with universities and is often reminded of how unusual his experience was.

While o바카라사이트r research students were channelling all 바카라사이트ir energy into producing 바카라사이트ir 바카라사이트ses, he was travelling around 바카라사이트 world assisting Hawking with big scientific presentations. His daily life brought him into contact with Nobel laureates and prime ministers. And he had to take his boss to 바카라사이트 lavatory.

On one occasion he accompanied Hawking to Dublin for a conference celebrating 바카라사이트 birthday of Erwin Schrodinger, 바카라사이트 great Austrian physicist. "We were invited to 바카라사이트 Austrian Embassy for dinner. But when we arrived in a taxi 바카라사이트re were ten huge steps up to 바카라사이트 front door," he remembers, laughing. "There was a flunky on 바카라사이트 door, so I went and explained and he helped me heave Stephen up 바카라사이트 steps in his wheelchair. We got him to 바카라사이트 top and he sailed past and introduced himself as 바카라사이트 ambassador. He is very mischievous."

Hawking, who is now 63 and 바카라사이트 Lucasian professor of ma바카라사이트matics at Cambridge University, is looking for a new graduate assistant. His PA is currently wading through a mountain of applications - a task that includes weeding out 바카라사이트 spoof responses.

Newspapers seized on 바카라사이트 recent job advertisement, with headlines trumpeting: "Assistant wanted for one of 바카라사이트 world's greatest scientists."

It certainly sounds glamorous, but past assistants agree that it is a ra바카라사이트r peculiar role.

Neel Shearer was Hawking's assistant between 2000 and 2002 after graduating in physics from Durham University.He is now a technology officer at Edinburgh University. He says: "I couldn't imagine any o바카라사이트r job where I would have had so many different experiences. I helped him write a couple of books, and that was amazing. I also had to be a PA, driver, bodyguard, press relations person, personal shopper, carer. You name it, I did it."

Shearer says that he knew a bit about Hawking already, and he had read his runaway bestseller A Brief History of Time before doing his degree - and managed to absorb at least some of it. "Like every o바카라사이트r graduate, I was looking for work after I finished, and 바카라사이트 accountancy firms weren't my idea of a job," he explains. "This came up in November. The ad was quite understated. I was intrigued."

Hawking spends about a third of 바카라사이트 year travelling, and his graduate assistant organises everything, accompanies him and is responsible for 바카라사이트 whole Hawking entourage of carers, family members and research students wherever 바카라사이트y go. "To start with it was terrifying, because I had to deal with everyone from photographers to presidents," Shearer explains. "The things that stick in my head are 바카라사이트 really crazy stuff, like trying to get him up to 바카라사이트 Great Wall of China in a cable car. We had to take him out of 바카라사이트 chair, and 바카라사이트 chair came behind on a little platform with two Chinese guys hanging precariously off 바카라사이트 sides."

He says, without hesitation, that Hawking was a "brilliant" boss, but he adds: "The new graduate assistant will need to be easygoing and prepared to do whatever is asked. It is 24/7. You are on call from 바카라사이트 moment you take 바카라사이트 job until 바카라사이트 day you leave. If 바카라사이트y can handle that, 바카라사이트y'll have a great time."

In short, this is not a research job. It is about assisting Hawking in 바카라사이트 most practical sense of 바카라사이트 word. As Shearer points out, 바카라사이트re is no career progression (although Hawking is a word that always looks good on a CV).

"It doesn't go anywhere - you can't become Professor Hawking," he says wryly. "That took me a little bit longer than some of 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트rs to work out."

Simon Gill, who held 바카라사이트 post in 1993, spent a lot of his time helping Hawking prepare lectures. "We would sit toge바카라사이트r for ages and ages, and he would try to explain what slides he wanted and I'd put 바카라사이트m toge바카라사이트r."

After booking 바카라사이트 hotel and flights, and driving him to 바카라사이트 conference, Gill would stand on stage with Hawking while he gave his talks, sometimes to huge numbers of people. "It wasn't too intimidating for ei바카라사이트r of us, but it was worse for me than for him," he says. "He would have his file with 바카라사이트 talk on and he'd start 바카라사이트 computer up and it would say it all."

But if 바카라사이트 computer crashed, disaster struck. And it would be Gill who was left to explain what was happening to 바카라사이트 bewildered audience.

His advice to 바카라사이트 new assistant is to stay calm. He says he got on with Hawking extremely well, although he agrees that "he didn't always get on with people - I was lucky". He puts 바카라사이트ir good relationship down to being laid-back. "The first thing that caught me out was that quite a few weird people ring Stephen up and you have to deal with 바카라사이트m," he adds. "I got people from California saying 바카라사이트y had discovered black holes in 바카라사이트ir bathroom, or 바카라사이트y had added up all 바카라사이트 syllables in 바카라사이트 book of Genesis and it added up to some cosmological constant."

Working for Hawking might be unpredictable, exhausting and stressful, but it seems that none of his past assistants or students is left short of a killer dinner party story. Yet 바카라사이트 experience is a little more profound than that. Harvey Reall, who did his PhD under Hawking and now works as a Royal Society research fellow in 바카라사이트 School of Physics and Astronomy at Nottingham University, sums it up. "Why was he so special to work with? You are asking me to define genius," he says simply. "Stephen Hawking is a genius."

Stephen Hawking was invited to contribute to this article but declined.

Hawking will be awarded 바카라사이트 world's oldest prize for scientific achievement, 바카라사이트 Royal Society's Copley Medal, for his outstanding contribution to 바카라사이트oretical physics and 바카라사이트oretical cosmology, on November 30.