Stephen Hawking is alive.
Stephen William Hawking , ( born 8 January 1942 ) is an English theoretical physicist , cosmologist , author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge . Hawking has a rare early-onset , slow-progressing form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( ALS ) that has gradually paralysed him over the decades . He now communicates using a single cheek muscle attached to a speech-generating device .