One of the founders of string theory has been elected to replace Stephen Hawking as Cambridge University's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

Professor Michael Green becomes the 18th holder of the professorship.
 
Prof Green, who currently holds the John Humphrey Plummer Professorship of Theoretical Physics is one of the founders of string theory, generally regarded as the most successful candidate to date to unify quantum theory and general relativity, the two fundamental physical theories of the early twentieth century, and thereby formulate a consistent quantum theory of gravity.
 
String theory, which is formulated in ten dimensions with the extra dimensions 'compactified' at very high energy, has met with many successes over the years. It has, for example, been shown to contain all the known particles of the so-called standard model of particle physics.
 
Michael Green was a pioneer of string theory from the early seventies onwards. However at that stage the theory contained difficult inconsistencies and many gave up trying to develop it, turning instead to easier problems.
 
Green continued and his determination paid off when in 1984, with John Schwarz of the California Institute of Technology, he discovered 'amomaly cancellation'. This quickly convinced the theoretical physics community of the viability of string theory, transformed it into an active and productive field of research and led to the explosion of interest in string theory that continues today.
 
Since his seminal work in 1984 Professor Green has continued to lead the development of string theory. An early contribution was his 1987 textbook on string theory written with Schwarz and Edward Witten. This was for many years the only textbook on the subject and is still in widespread use today. He has also personally made many further important research contributions.
 
Peter Haynes, head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, said: “Michael Green has played a leading role in theoretical physics research in the Department since 1993. He is internationally known as a pioneer in string theory which over the last 20 years has become one of the most important and active areas of theoretical physics.
 
The Lucasian Professorship was established in 1663, with previous holders including Isaac Newton, Paul Dirac and James Lighthill.
 
Professor Hawking stepped down from the Professorship in the year of his 67th birthday, as University statutes require. In his new role as director of research, he will continue to lead research efforts in cosmology and gravitation within DAMTP.

• The University of Cambridge has announced the appointment of three new Pro-Vice-Chancellors who will take up their roles on 1 January 2010.

Dr Jennifer Barnes, the current president of Murray Edwards College, has been appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for International Strategy.  Dr Barnes has held the posts of Associate Professor at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, and Assistant Principal and Dean of Trinity College of Music.  In 2005, she was appointed as the first Director of International Education for BP, where she advised colleagues in more than 25 countries on how to establish partnerships between business, governments and the university sector to support university programmes.
 
Professor Lynn Gladden CBE, FRS, FREng has been appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research.  Professor Gladden is the Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology; she is also a member of the Council of EPSRC.

Professor Ian White has been appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Institutional Affairs. Professor White has held the post of Van Eck Professor of Engineering since 2001, is currently Chair of the School of Technology and heads the research activities in Photonic Systems in the Electrical Division of the Engineering Department.