David Wiltshire, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Canterbury, was a PHD student under the world renowned scientist from 1982 to 1987 at Cambridge University.
Wiltshire said Hawking was a lecturer with a "remarkable" ability to present complicated physics questions "in a simple way".
He said Hawking inspired him "to ask really basic, fundamental questions" when it came to science.
"He was extremely creative," he said. "The style of thinking and probing outside [his] comfort zone that he did is something I've tried to do in my own work.
"He had a very quirky sense of humour which permeated everything he did," he said.
"He needed a sense of humour in the very difficult condition that he was in."
Hawking's health started deteriorating when he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 1964.
Wiltshire said despite his condition, Hawking continued teaching and expanding his research.
"He always thought he had very little time left but he just kept on and on," Wiltshire said. "He really treasured being alive and that gave an immediacy to everything he did.
"He went and asked the important questions because he knew he didn't have a lot of time left."