Professor Stephen Hawking has been awarded the 2010 Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science by the Planetary Society.

The award was presented at an event at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences on Wilberforce Road, which was also attended by Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, and American science educator Bill Nye.

The Cosmos Award has been presented since 2005 to individuals who carry out significant work in aid of the Planetary Society’s mission: “to inspire the people of Earth to explore other worlds, understand our own and seek life elsewhere.”

Previous recipients include James Cameron, the director of the film Avatar, and Paula Apsell, the producer of the American popular science television series Nova.

“Stephen Hawking is a science superstar,” said Louis Friedman, the Executive Director of the Society. “His insights span the universe and deepen our understanding of all physics."

The popular science book A Brief History of Time, in which Hawking presents the theories behind the Big Bang and black holes in terms suitable for non-specialists, was cited by the award’s selection committee as a key example of Hawking’s work to increase the public understanding of science, as well as the television series Stephen Hawking’s Universe and the children’s book George’s Secret Key to the Universe, which Hawking co-authored with his daughter Lucy.

Professor Hawking’s interest in space exploration was also a factor in his being chosen for the award. The physicist, who until last year was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, experienced weightlessness on a zero-g aeroplane flight in 2007, and has spoken in favour of continued manned space missions as a way of capturing the public’s attention and maintaining public interest in the exploration of space.

“I think it’s great to honour Professor Hawking in this way,” said a St Catharine’s student. “So much scientific research takes place behind closed doors, and can’t be understood by non-specialists – Professor Hawking does a favour to the public perception of science by opening it up to a wider audience.”

The Planetary Society was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman in order to demonstrate public support for space exploration and the search for extra-terrestrial life, and to promote scientific education. With more than 100,000 members in 125 countries, it is the world’s largest space interest group.