Stephen Hawking is a scientist.
Cosmology ( from the Greek κόσμος , kosmos `` world '' and - λογία , - logia `` study of '' ) is the study of the origin , evolution , and eventual fate of the universe . Physical cosmology is the scholarly and scientific study of the origin , large-scale structures and dynamics , and ultimate fate of the universe , as well as the scientific laws that govern these realities . The Pontifical Academy of Sciences ( Pontificia accademia delle scienze , Pontificia Academia Scientiarum ) is a scientific academy of the Vatican City , established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI , and thriving with the blessing of the Papacy ever since . Stephen Hawking . Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics .