by Teresa Moore
Chris Hunter was working part-time at Munro's bookstore in downtown Victoria when Stephen Hawking's book, A Brief History of Time , was published. Like thousands of others, he bought the book, but didn't read it thoroughly. Seven years later, however, while preparing for an interview with the most famous physicist since Einstein, he read the physics tome from cover to cover.
Hunter graduated from UVic in 1994 after a brilliant career in physics and math (arguably the toughest double major offered) that earned him the Governor General's silver medal for the highest graduating average in all faculties and the respect of his professors. Dr. Chris Garrett (SEOS) recalls trying to give him an A in a course, but couldn't. ³His work was always A+,² says Garrett.
After graduating from UVic, Hunter moved to Cambridge to enter a year-long pre-doctoral program in theoretical physics. It's there he met Hawking. When he was accepted in the doctoral program, he listed Hawking, who takes only one graduate student a year, as his first choice for a supervisor.
³I was pretty nervous when I went to the interview, but I thought it went well,² recalls the 24-year old UVic grad. After it was over, he sat with other would-be doctoral students, anxiously awaiting news of his success or failure.
³A supervisor came out and said matter-of-factly, 'You will be studying with Dr. Hawking'. I was sitting with another guy who had also interviewed with him, so I didn't want to look too exuberant.² Hunter quietly excused himself, went outside and then ³just ran around and around to cool myself down².
Hunter returned to Victoria this summer to visit his family, take a short camping vacation and get ready for next year. One of his major purchases in preparation for his return to Cambridge was a set of hockey equipment from Canadian Tire. Along with his academic success last year in Cambridge, Hunter rejuvenated his hockey career. Always a keen player, he'd given up the game for studies, but in Cambridge, rediscovered his childhood love. Now he plays goal for the Cambridge B hockey team, a group of Canadian students living abroad.
³It's probably the only place in the world where I'd be able to play on a university team,² he jokes.
Hunter expects the next three years to be busy and exciting as he explores black holes and theoretical physics with Hawking. However, he plans to find time for his other interests. He plays jazz bass and a bit of piano (his brother just graduated with a degree in jazz from York University), knows German and French, jogs, plays tennis and fences. He is an avid hiker and camper and spent four months last year travelling through Europe, Greece and Scandinavia with his companion of four years, Louise Timmermans, also a UVic physics grad and soon-to-be Cambridge student. On his schedule will also be the weekly hockey games with Oxford and other local teams.
He won't have to spend time worrying about money, though. Last year, before the grants were cut back, he was awarded a four-year NSERC grant, which helped him with the approximately $21,000 tuition and college fees he paid as a foreign student.
After completing his doctorate, Hunter plans to teach and do researchunless of course, he gets an offer from an NHL team.
The Ring
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