Named in honor of Stephen Hawking (b. 1942), theoretical physicist, professor of mathematics at Cambridge University. He is renowned for his research on cosmology and quantum gravitation theory, as well as on the physics of black holes. Besides his scientific work, he is also the author of the well-known popularizations A Brief History of Time and Black holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays. He was named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on 1985-01-26. 

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 31297