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== Research ==
== Research ==
He combines television appearances with work as a [[Professor]] of Geoscience Communication in the Department of Geology at the [[University of Plymouth]].<ref>[http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/istewart Staff details] plymouth.ac.uk</ref>
He combines television appearances with work as a Professor of Geoscience Communication in the Department of Geology at the [[University of Plymouth]].<ref>[http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/istewart Staff details] plymouth.ac.uk</ref>


His main research interests are in the broad area of [[Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth|Earth hazards]] and [[natural disaster]]s, particularly in terms of identifying past major [[earthquake]]s, [[tsunami]]s and [[volcanic eruption]]s in the [[Mediterranean region]]. Stewart also specializes in geology's effect on culture and religion throughout the history of the world.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/iain-stewart-biog.shtml BBC - BBC Four Documentaries - Journeys From the Centre of the Earth - Dr Iain Stewart<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He appears in other roles, including as a scientific commentator.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrPjddK2t-I&feature=related Stewart on global warming] [[YouTube.com]]</ref>
His main research interests are in the broad area of [[Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth|Earth hazards]] and [[natural disaster]]s, particularly in terms of identifying past major [[earthquake]]s, [[tsunami]]s and [[volcanic eruption]]s in the [[Mediterranean region]]. Stewart also specializes in geology's effect on culture and religion throughout the history of the world.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/iain-stewart-biog.shtml BBC - BBC Four Documentaries - Journeys From the Centre of the Earth - Dr Iain Stewart<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He appears in other roles, including as a scientific commentator.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrPjddK2t-I&feature=related Stewart on global warming] [[YouTube.com]]</ref>

Revision as of 08:34, 19 June 2011

For other people with a similar name, see Ian Stewart.
Iain Stewart
Born1964 (age 59–60)
East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Alma materUniversity of Strathclyde, Bristol University
Occupations
Known for

Iain Simpson Stewart (born 1964) is a Scottish geologist, television and radio presenter, and professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth. He has presented series such as Journeys From the Centre of the Earth, Earth: The Power of the Planet, Hot Rocks, 10 Things You Didn't Know About..., The Climate Wars and How Earth Made Us. He has also appeared in the Rough Science programmes.

His latest series are Making Scotland's Landscape, shown on BBC One starting on 24 October 2010; Men Of Rock, a television series about pioneering geologists in Scotland; and Walking Through Landscapes a radio show for BBC Radio Scotland.[1]

Early life and career

Born in East Kilbride, in Lanarkshire,[2] he has two younger brothers, Graeme and Frazer.

Stewart was a child actor and holder of an Equity card. In 1978 he appeared in a Scottish series, Huntingtower.[2][3] Having left acting behind, he studied geology and earth science, and graduated from Strathclyde University (Glasgow, Scotland) in 1986 and obtained his doctorate in 1990 at the University of Bristol on research into earthquakes in Greece and Turkey.[2] He began teaching geology at the West London Institute of Higher Education, and then Brunel University where he stayed for 12 years in total before moving back to Scotland to develop a new career as a science broadcaster.[2] 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".[4]

Television career

He re-appeared on 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 tidal wave in 373 BCE, newly rediscovered in 2001.[5] This, he says, "gave me a hunger to get more geology on telly," and he moved to Glasgow to try to get television projects off the ground.[6] He featured in another Horizon film, Earthquake Storms, in April 2003,[7] 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.[8]

Solo series and films he has subsequently presented include:

  • Journey From The Centre Of The Earth (shown September/October 2004), six one-hour films charting how geology has shaped the history of the Mediterranean,[9] shown in the United States on Discovery's Science Channel as Hot Rocks: Geology of Civilization.[10] The series won the prestigious "Best Earth Science programme" award at the 2005 Jackson Hole Film Festival.[2]
  • Ten Things You Didn't Know About... Volcanoes (July 2006).
  • Journeys into the Ring of Fire (June 2007); four one-hour films showing how rocks shaped the history and culture in Japan, Peru, Indonesia and California.[11]
  • Earth: The Power of the Planet (November 2007), U.S. title: Earth: The Biography, five one hour films (Volcano, Oceans, Atmosphere, Ice, Rare Earth) about the forces that have shaped the planet and made it what it is.[12][13][14] Cerapachys iainstewarti, a species of Madagascar ant discovered during the filming of this series, was named after Stewart.[15]
  • Ten Things You Didn't Know About... Tsunamis (January 2008)
  • Ten Things You Didn't Know About... Earthquakes (January 2008)
  • Ten Things You Didn't Know About... Avalanches (January 2008)
  • The Climate Wars (September 2008), three one-hour films tracing the history of the science and politics of global warming.[16]
  • How the Earth Made Us (2010), five one-hour films on how geology, geography and climate have influenced mankind. ASIN: B002SZQCA2 (Blueray)
  • How the Earth Changed History (2010) ASIN: B003DC8824 [17]
  • Walking Through Landscapes,(2010) Radio show, BBC Radio Scotland, October.
  • Making Scotland's Landscape, (2010) BBC television, October.
  • Men Of Rock, (2011) about scientists working in Scotland who pioneered geological study and understanding. BBC

Radio career

Stewart presented Britain's Labs on BBC Radio 4 in mid 2011.

Research

He combines television appearances with work as a Professor of Geoscience Communication in the Department of Geology at the University of Plymouth.[18]

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. Stewart also specializes 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 is a member of the Board of Directors at the Centre for Research into Earth Energy Systems, University of Durham.

Major publications

  • Stewart, I.S. and J. Lynch. 2008. Earth: the biography. Washington DC: National Geographic. ISBN 1-4262-0236-9.
  • Stewart, I.S. 2005. Journeys from the centre of the Earth: how geology shaped civilization. London: Century/Random House. ISBN 1-84413-813-5
  • Morner, N.A., Stewart, I.S., Trifonov, V.G., Caputo, R., Nikonov, A.A., Kozhurin, A.I.,& Kopp, M.L. (Eds.) 2004. Active Faults in the Eastern Hemisphere. Tectonophysics Special Issue volume 380, nos. 3-4.
  • Dunne, W., Stewart, I.S. & Turner, J.P. (Eds.) 2001. Brittle Microtectonics, Neotectonics and Archaeoseismicity. Journal of Structural Geology, special issue, vol. 13, No.2/3, 500pp.
  • Stewart, I.S., Sauber, J. & Rose, J. (Eds.) 2000. Ice Sheets, Crustal Deformation and Seismicity. Quaternary Science Reviews special issue, vol. 14/15.
  • McGuire, W.J., Griffiths, D., Hancock, P.L. & Stewart, I.S. (Eds.) 2000. The Archaeology of Geological Catastrophes. Geological Society of London. Special Publication, 171, 413p. ISBN 978-1862390621
  • Stewart, I.S. and C. Vita-Finzi (eds.). 1999. Coastal Tectonics. London: Geological Society. Special Publication (ISBN 1-86239-024-X)

References

  1. ^ Mciver, Brian (16 October 2010). "TV geologist Iain Stewart's global trek brings him home to Scotland at last". Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e Biography, English Riviera Geopark
  3. ^ Clip from Huntingtower YouTube.com
  4. ^ Memories of Past members of the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Brunel University, edited by Iris Turner, 2007
  5. ^ Horizon: Helike - The Real Atlantis, BBC Two 9.00pm Thursday 10 January 2002
  6. ^ Samantha Booth, Scots TV scientist Iain Stewart is on one-man mission to make geology sexy, Daily Record, September 6, 2008
  7. ^ Horizon: Earthquake Storms, BBC Two, Thursday 1 April, 9 pm 2003
  8. ^ Rough Science: Iain's Diaries, BBC/Open University
  9. ^ Journeys From The Centre Of The Earth, BBC/Open University
  10. ^ Hot Rocks: Geology of Civilization, Science Channel
  11. ^ Journeys into the Ring of Fire, BBC Four documentaries
  12. ^ Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC
  13. ^ Earth - the power of the planet, University of Plymouth
  14. ^ Earth: the biography, National Geographic Channel
  15. ^ Brand new ant species named after TV star academic plymouth.ac.uk
  16. ^ Earth – The Climate Wars (BBC Press Office)
  17. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Changed-History-Iain-Stewart/dp/B003DC8824
  18. ^ Staff details plymouth.ac.uk
  19. ^ BBC - BBC Four Documentaries - Journeys From the Centre of the Earth - Dr Iain Stewart
  20. ^ Stewart on global warming YouTube.com

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