British physicist Stephen Hawking was honored at a celebrity-laden affair held Wednesday at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

Several performances and speeches from the top names in the fields of opera, theater, physics, music, dance and poetry were delivered to pay tribute to the man who has contributed a lot to the society.

Hawking told the people gathered inside the Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center, “As scientists, we step on the shoulders of science, building on the work that has come before us – aiming to inspire a new generation of young scientists to continue once we are gone. I am proud to have played a small role in this great story.”

Hawking, who is known for his work about black holes, developed a degenerative disease in the 60s, resulting to his impaired ability to speak and move. He makes use of an electronic speech synthesizer when talking.

The arts and science gala kicked off the World Science Festival 2010, a five-day event that aims to impart the most complex topics of the universe to the people.

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