Stephen Hawking Looking For Personal Techie

kaptink writes "One of the great grandmasters of space, time and the history of our existence is seeking an assistant to help develop and maintain the electronic speech system that allows him to communicate his vision of the universe. An informal job ad posted on Stephen's website said the assistant should be computer literate, ready to travel and able to repair electronic devices 'with no instruction manual or technical support.' He lost his real voice in a tracheotomy in 1985, but has something based on NeoSpeech's VoiceText speech synthesizer mounted on his wheelchair that helps synthesize speech by interpreting the twitches of his face. The synthesizer's robotic monotone has become nearly as famous as Hawking himself, but the computer — powered by batteries fastened to the back of Hawking's wheelchair — isn't just for speaking. It can connect to the internet over mobile phone networks and a universal infrared remote enables the physicist to switch on the lights, watch television, or open doors either at home or at the office. It's a complicated, tailor-made system, as the ad makes clear. A photograph of the back of Hawking's wheelchair, loaded with coiled wires and electronic equipment, is pictured under the words: 'Could you maintain this? If your answer is "yes", we'd like to hear from you!'. Hawking's website says that the job's salary is expected to be about $38,500 a year."

Comments

link to the picture

[Andy_R]

http://www.hawking.org.uk/

Diverse skills

[Dan East]

This entails a lot more than just technical aspects:

• Managing national and international travel for Prof. Hawking and his care team. Expect to spend around 3 months per year abroad!
• Preparation of lecture graphics and public speaking
• Dealing with the media and press
• Answering inquiries from the public and maintaining the website

Sounds like a lot of direct PR stuff is involved, including scheduling and logistics, and even graphics design, which are probably not skills the typical techie would be strong in. Also, the pay sounds kind of low considering it's a whole lot more than just maintaining his technology.

Re:He needs an upgrade.

[Mononoke]

No, worst case would be having Majel Barret record the voice. Or would it be worst? Imagine, one of the most famous scientists of all time speaking in the voice of one of the most famous computer systems of all time?

If he can get Majel to record the voice, then he will have once again turned our understanding of the linearity of time completely upside down.