Bike route and EPS Historic Site Award honour Georges Lemaître, father of the Big Bang theory
On Thursday 23 May 2019, a new bike route dedicated to the Big Bang theory was festively opened. Furthermore, the Heilige-Geestcollege in Leuven, where Georges Lemaître lived and worked when he developed the Big Bang theory, will receive the prestigious Historic Site Award from the European Physical Society (EPS).
The events mark the end of the commemorative cycle launched by sister universities KU Leuven and UCLouvain in 2016 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Mgr Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), the father of the Big Bang theory.
KU Leuven and UCLouvain launched the idea of the Big Bang route a couple of years ago. The new bike route is the result of intense cooperation between both sister universities, the cities of Leuven and Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, and the provinces of Flemish and Walloon Brabant. It guides cyclists through the wonderful scenery between Louvain-la-Neuve and Leuven.
An informative route connecting KU Leuven and UCLouvain
The Big Bang route starts and ends at the statues of Georges Lemaître in Louvain-la-Neuve and Leuven. It’s a lovely 75 km tour through the sloping landscape of Walloon Brabant and Meerdaalwoud. QR codes along the way allow visitors to get to know more about Lemaître, the Big Bang theory, and the various evolutionary steps of the universe.
Contrary to the Big Bang theory itself, the idea for the Big Bang route wasn’t conceived in Leuven, but on the island of La Palma in the Canaries. During a night of observations at the Leuven Mercator Telescope on the island, the scientists who were there thought up a sportive track between Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve. It became a unifying project between both universities, both cities, and both provinces.
Two propositions and a nickname
At the beginning of the 20th century, it was generally assumed that the universe was immutable and eternal. Lemaître debunked these two propositions with his pioneering research. He suggested that the universe is expanding. He based his claim on the theory of relativity by Albert Einstein, whom he had close connections with. Furthermore, Lemaître argued that the universe hasn’t always existed, but that it originated from an initial point, a primaeval atom. He calculated that the Big Bang happened around 10 billion years ago, for which he based himself on astronomic observations of the speeds at which galaxies are moving away from each other. Meanwhile, this time frame has been adjusted to 13.8 billion years.
Professor Lemaître’s innovative idea was originally met with opposition from prominent scientists such as Einstein and Arthur Eddington. Fred Hoyle, a British astronomer who was also strongly opposed to the hypothesis, mockingly described the theory as a Big Bang. Lemaître stuck to his position, however, and his work was dubbed ‘the Big Bang theory’.
The EPS Historic Site Award
At the suggestion of the Belgian Physical Society (BPS), the European Physical Society (EPS) has awarded the prestigious Historic Site Award to the building known as the Heilige-Geestcollege in Leuven, where Professor Lemaître lived and worked. Here, in 1931, he wrote his pioneering article that appeared in the journal Nature, already an authoritative reference at the time. In only 450 words, he summarised the foundations of the Big Bang theory.
The EPS Historic Site Award gives international standing to (the scientific work of) Lemaître as a physicist whose pioneering work has helped advance modern physics and physical cosmology in particular. Together with the Rectors of the two sister universities, the representatives of EPS and BPS inaugurated a commemorative plaque in his honour at the Heilige-Geestcollege.
The Francqui Foundation, which already awarded Professor Lemaître the prestigious Belgian Francqui Prize in 1934, is also directly involved in this special commemorative service.
A few quotes
Luc Sels, Rector of KU Leuven: “A Big Bang bike route: it started out as a brilliant and somewhat crazy idea, but has become a wonderful achievement. Not only because it allows the general public to learn more about one of the most important professors of the Leuven university in a sportive way, but also because it connects the two sister universities UCLouvain and KU Leuven. Today, the ties between the two universities are very strong. The bike route will hopefully bring more people from Leuven to Louvain-la-Neuve and vice versa.”
Vincent Blondel, Rector of UCLouvain: “Together with KU Leuven, UCLouvain is honouring Georges Lemaître, the professor who has radically changed our understanding of the universe. I’m also very pleased that this celebration is the result of a connecting dialogue between the two universities, the two cities, and the two provinces.”
Mohamed Ridouani, Mayor of Leuven: “In addition to the scientific connection between the universities and the ties between the cities of Leuven and Louvain-La-Neuve, we now have a physical bike connection between our university cities, with 75 km worth of information about Georges Lemaître and the Big Bang. These kinds of connections and collaborations are necessary to be ground-breaking. That was the case in the past, and will be even more so in the future.”
Tom Dehaene and Monique Swinnen, representatives of the Province of Flemish Brabant: “Last year, the Provinces of Flemish and Walloon Brabant renewed their bike route maps, with attention to the continuity of the bike network across provincial boundaries. We promised each other to develop thematic bike routes on the junctions together. Therefore, we are very pleased to present a first joint bike route that highlights the beautiful landscapes in both provinces, with a theme that connects two major sister cities.”
Jozef Ongena, president of the Belgian Physical Society: “The prestigious Historic Site Award for the Heilige-Geestcollege puts Leuven Professor Georges Lemaître up there with the most prominent scientists of the last century. This College is where he first proposed that the universe originated from a very small and scorching initial point. Despite the scepticism and even mockery he faced from famous colleagues around the world, Lemaître stuck with his idea. The reality of the Big Bang has been undisputed since.”
