Iain Stewart (geologist) explained

Iain Stewart
Birth Place:East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Citizenship:United Kingdom
Nationality:Scottish
Fields:Geology
Workplaces:University of Plymouth, West London Institute of Higher Education, Brunel University
Alma Mater:University of Strathclyde, Bristol University
Doctoral Advisor:Paul Hancock
John Thornes
Thesis Title:The evolution of neotectonic normal fault scarps in the Aegean Region
Thesis Url:http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?did=2&uin=uk.bl.ethos.568961
Thesis Year:1990
Website:

Iain Simpson Stewart (born 1964)[1] is a Scottish geologist who is currently Jordan-UK El Hassan bin Talal Research Chair in Sustainability at the Royal Scientific Society in Jordan. He is a UNESCO Chair in Geoscience and Society and formerly a member of the Scientific Board of UNESCO's International Geoscience Programme.[2] Described as geology's "rock star",[3] Stewart is best known to the public as the presenter of a number of science programmes for the BBC, notably the BAFTA nominated[4] (2007).

He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, the Royal Society of Edinburgh,[5] and President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Until 2021 he was Director of the Sustainable Earth Institute at University of Plymouth and remains a of Professor of Geoscience Communication there, in addition to his role as co-Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability at Ashoka University.

Early life and education

Stewart was born in 1964 in East Kilbride, in Lanarkshire,[6] to Sheena and Jack.[7] He has two younger brothers, Graeme and Frazer. He attended Mount Cameron Primary and then Claremont High School from 1976 to 1982. In an interview with the Glasgow Herald, Stewart revealed that he initially struggled with geology: "I was a middling student, never really at the top of the class, nor at the bottom. Which I think is good, in a way. When you're out there at the top, it can be quite isolating."[8]

Stewart was a child actor and holder of an Equity card. His first appearance on television came in 1978, in a BBC Scotland adaptation of John Buchan's 1922 novel Huntingtower.[9] Amongst his contemporaries at the East Kilbride Rep Theatre was the actor John Hannah.[10] Leaving acting behind, he studied geography and geology at Strathclyde University, graduating in 1986 with a first class honours Bachelor of Science degree. He obtained his doctorate, entitled "The evolution of neotectonic normal fault scarps in the Aegean Region" in 1990 at the University of Bristol on research into earthquakes in Greece and Turkey. In 1990 he began teaching geology at the West London Institute of Higher Education (WLIHE) in Osterley (occupying the Warden's flat with his wife for several years), and from 1995 at Brunel University due to its merger with WLIHE. After 12 years in London he moved back to Scotland to develop a new career as a science broadcaster. Nostalgic for Brunel, he said "And invariably, you move on to places that for all their benefits, seem surprisingly narrow, and more fallow, in comparison. In short, it was a remarkable place to be".[11] He moved to the University of Plymouth in 2004, later becoming Professor of Geoscience Communication, a position he believed to be unique in the world.[12] He left to become Jordan-UK El Hassan bin Talal Research Chair in Sustainability in 2021 on a four year secondment to the Royal Scientific Society, based in Amman.[13]

Broadcasting

Stewart returned to television as an expert academic for Helike – The Real Atlantis, a 2002 BBC Horizon film about the destruction of the Greek city of Helike by earthquake and tsunami in 373 BCE, newly rediscovered in 2001.[14] This, he says, "gave me a hunger to get more geology on telly."[15] He featured in another Horizon film, on earthquakes, in April 2003,[16] before appearing as a team member in the fourth series of Rough Science (shown January/February 2004), a series where a group of scientists is challenged to solve tasks using only the resources of the local surroundings and a small set of supplies.[17] From there, built up a 15 year partnership with BBC Science presenting and hosting major Earth science documentaries and radio programmes until 2015, when Planet Oil aired on the BBC.

Research

His main research interests are in the broad area of Earth hazards and natural disasters, particularly in terms of identifying past major earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions in the Mediterranean region.[18] Stewart also specialises in geology's effect on culture and religion throughout the history of the world.[19] He appears in other roles, including as a scientific commentator.[20]

He also worked on a project called Eden in 2011, where scientists wanted to recreate a project called The Bell Jar. If you put a mouse in the jar, it would die quickly, but if you put a mouse in the jar with a plant, it would live longer. In project Eden, Stewart was a mouse, and the bell jar was a box (8x2x2 meters) with plants such as banana trees. When he went in, they lowered the oxygen levels from 20% to 12%. The question was, could the plant produce enough to compensate for the lack of oxygen. The result was that they can do it. It means that the need for plants for living is high.

Stewart was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to geology and science communication.

Other activities

He is a patron of the English Riviera Geopark, a member of the Scientific Board of UNESCO's International Geological Programme and chair of its 'Hazards' theme, a vice-president of The Geographical Association and its primary Geography 'Champion', a member of the Steering Committee of the IUGS-Commission on Geoscience for Environmental Management Working Group on 'Communicating Environmental Geoscience', a member of the UK National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement's Academic Action Research group, and a member of The Geological Society of London's external relations committee. He is a member of the board of directors at the Centre for Research into Earth Energy Systems, University of Durham.[21]

Honours and awards

Honorary Degrees

Awards

Work

Selected broadcasts

Major publications

External links

Opinion piece by Iain Stewart at cosmosmagazine.com.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Iain Stewart. 30 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20120313192125/http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6176779. 13 March 2012. dead.
  2. Web site: Iain Stewart. 30 June 2013.
  3. News: Science Weekly: Iain Stewart on climate change . Guardian . 8 September 2008 . 30 June 2013 . London . Alok . Jha . Ian . Sample . Nell . Boase . Andy . Duckworth.
  4. Web site: Television Specialist Factual. 30 June 2013.
  5. RSE Welcomes 60 New Fellows. 15 February 2017. Royal Society of Edinburgh. 28 March 2017.
  6. Web site: Biography. 1 July 2013.
  7. Web site: Eaglesham pupils help launch windfarm activity programme. 1 July 2013.
  8. Web site: I don't get recognised much, I'm not in the same league as Brian Cox. The Herald. 16 January 2012 . 1 July 2013.
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxY47AB36pc Clip from Huntingtower
  10. Web site: Hall of Fame.
  11. Web site: Memories of Past members of the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences. 1 July 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20110930031741/http://people.brunel.ac.uk/~gystiit/BMF.pdf. 30 September 2011. dead.
  12. News: My perfect weekend: Iain Stewart. 1 July 2013 . London. The Daily Telegraph. Christopher. Middleton. 25 February 2010.
  13. Web site: The British Academy and Jordan's Royal Scientific Society announce new Jordan-UK el Hassan bin Talal Research Chair in Sustainability.
  14. https://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/helike.shtml Horizon: Helike – The Real Atlantis
  15. Samantha Booth, Scots TV scientist Iain Stewart is on one-man mission to make geology sexy, Daily Record, 6 September 2008
  16. https://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2003/earthquakestorms.shtml Horizon: Earthquake Storms
  17. http://www.open2.net/roughscience4/Iains_diaries_menu.html Rough Science: Iain's Diaries
  18. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/istewart Staff details
  19. Web site: BBC iPlayer - Error. BBC iPlayer.
  20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrPjddK2t-I Stewart on global warming
  21. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/istewart# Iain Stewart, University of Plymouth website, Undated
  22. Web site: Science: a matter for researchers and communicators. 7 April 2021.
  23. Web site: Athelstan Spilhaus Award. 6 August 2013.
  24. Web site: 2010 medals and awards. 30 June 2013.
  25. http://www.open2.net/journeysfrom/ Journeys From The Centre Of The Earth
  26. http://science.discovery.com/convergence/hotrocks/hotrocks.html Hot Rocks: Geology of Civilization
  27. Web site: English Riviera Global Geopark - News. www.englishrivierageopark.org.uk.
  28. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007nq8z Journeys into the Ring of Fire
  29. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/earthpoweroftheplanet/page1.shtml Earth: The Power of the Planet
  30. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=19791 Earth – the power of the planet
  31. Web site: Earth: the biography . https://web.archive.org/web/20080903070912/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/earth-the-biography/all/01 . 3 September 2008 . National Geographic Channel.
  32. News: . The Earth from birth . BBC . December 14, 2007 . August 2, 2016.
  33. https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk38/feature_earth.shtml Earth – The Climate Wars
  34. Web site: Hot Planet . British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC One) . https://archive.today/20130419181040/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jf6md . 19 April 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  35. Web site: How the Earth Changed History. 29 June 2010. Amazon.
  36. News: Volcano Live, BBC Two, preview. Grant. Olly. 9 July 2012. The Daily Telegraph. 11 July 2012. London.
  37. Web site: Swallowed by a Sinkhole. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Two). Retrieved 3 February 2014
  38. Web site: Re-Purposing Universities for Sustainable Human Progress Frontiers Research Topic. 2022-01-30. www.frontiersin.org. en.

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