Iconic, curious, and determined are all words to describe the powerful physicist and best selling author, Stephen W. Hawking, who passed away on March 14, of 2018.

Hawking was known for his research on black holes and relativity, as well as publishing many popular science books. Some of his most famous pieces are A Brief History of Time, The Grand Design, and The Universe in a Nutshell. These books discuss questions of the beginning of time, the universe’s boundaries, theories from Newton and Einstein, and more.

Hawking had not only been victorious in his years of research with cosmology, but he also amazingly survived a rare form of motor neuron disease. This disease caused him to live most of his life in a wheelchair and often using a voice synthesiser to speak. When he was first diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, doctors gave him less than three years to live.

“However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.” was one of his many inspirational and memorable quotes. Hawking inspired many people and will always continue to inspire.