Despite suggestions that he might leave the United Kingdom as a protest against public funding cuts to basic scientific research, Hawking worked as director of research at the Cambridge University Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.
Meski muncul dugaan bahwa ia berencana meninggalkan Britania Raya sebagai bentuk protes atas pemotongan anggaran penelitian ilmiah dasar, Hawking bekerja sebagai direktur penelitian di Departemen Matematika Terapan dan Fisika Teoretis Universitas Cambridge.