Professor Stephen Hawking is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences. His many publications include the best-seller A Brief History of Time and The Universe in a Nutshell. Mary K. Baumann is a writer and designer based in New York City. Will Hopkins has been a major force in the innovative use of photgraphy in the US. Michael Soluri is a photographer based in New York City. Loralee Nolletti has written and produced for, among others, TF1 (French Television) and Columbia University. Ray Villard, consultant on the book, is News Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute