Making waves Robert Stewart didn’t know a thing about oceanography when he graduated from Arlington State College with a physics degree in 1963. Fiy years later, he can reflect on an illustrious career during which he has helped us all better understand the ocean and why it’s so important. By Greg Pederson During a visit to campus in November, Robert Stewart was greatly impressed with the growth and progress his alma mater has made. 38 <strong>Maverick</strong> <strong>Science</strong> <strong>2013</strong>-<strong>14</strong> Brandon Wade
Above, Stewart aboard a research vessel in Chesapeake Bay off the coast of Virginia in 1988. Top right, Stewart, right, talks with renowned oceanographer Klaus Hasselmann at a colloquium on radio oceanography in Hamburg, Germany in 1976. Bottom right, Stewart, left, hands a Nansen bottle to Simon Ferreira aboard a research ship in the Indian Ocean in 1964. The bottle collects samples of seawater from a specific depth. Stewart was working with other oceanographers as part of the International Indian Ocean Expedition, the first cooperative scientific investigation of the Indian Ocean. Photos courtesy of Robert Stewart. There’s a bit of irony to be found in the fact that Robert Stewart was unimpressed by the ocean as a child. But then again, how could he have known at such a young age that studying the sea and its mysteries would become his passion? Stewart first saw the ocean as a boy in Atlantic City, N.J. He didn’t think it was anything special and certainly didn’t hear anything calling to him as he listened to the sound of waves washing ashore. His next experience with the ocean, some years later in Galveston, left him even less enthusiastic. “I remember hot, dirty beaches with brown water,” he says in summarizing his reaction. In high school, he became interested in physics. He had never even heard the term “oceanography” until he was nearing the end of his senior year at Arlington State College (now UT Arlington) in 1963 and began looking at graduate school work. By chance he read an article in The Saturday Evening Post about the need for physicists in the field of oceanography, and Stewart’s interest was piqued. That led to graduate studies at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and a long and distinguished career in oceanography. During that career, which spans half a century, Stewart has used his knowledge of physics to help solve some of the ocean’s great mysteries, but he’s quick to say he has been lucky to have good mentors and work with the right people. Among his achievements are pioneering work using high frequency radar to study ocean waves; his involvement with the Seasat satellite project, which laid the foundation for radio oceanography; and his role in the TOPEX/Poseidon project, a satellite mission that helped revolutionize oceanography as well as our understanding of ocean currents and tides, and produced the first highly accurate global maps of the tides, among other things. Stewart also had a highly productive tenure as a professor of oceanography at Texas A&M University, where he wrote a widely used textbook in physical oceanography. He spent considerable time providing teaching materials for K-12 instructors and students explaining oceanic processes and the usefulness of satellite data for observing the ocean. He also did everything in his power to improve the way oceanography is taught in schools and to stress the importance of the ocean. Now a professor emeritus and largely retired, Stewart returned to UT Arlington in early November, marking just the second time since he graduated in 1963 that he had been back on campus. He was a special guest speaker during the College of <strong>Science</strong>’s annual <strong>Science</strong> Week, and he talked with students about his career and urged them to find good mentors who can point them in the right direction. He also stressed to them the importance of studying the ocean. “Robert Stewart is a pioneer in satellite oceanography,” said Lee-Lueng Fu, a project scientist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who met Stewart in 1980, when Fu had just finished his Ph.D. in oceanography. “He was among the first few who recognized the potential of observing the global oceans from the vantage point of an orbiting satellite. He convinced me of the great opportunity in making a career in satellite oceanography. It has been a privilege to know him and benefit from his visionary work.” Stewart was born in York, Pennsylvania, one of five siblings. Growing up, his favorite hobby was catching butterflies, a pursuit which he continued to enjoy through college. When he was 11, Stewart, his parents and three of his siblings moved to Fort Worth so his dad could start an air conditioning repair service for York Air Conditioners. In addition to physics, Stewart developed interests in religion and science fiction during high school. In 1959 he graduated as class valedictorian from Laneri High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Fort Worth. At the time, the state of Texas offered valedictorians four years of free tuition to a state university. Stewart took advantage of the offer and chose Arlington State College, which was close to home and became a four-year college for the first time in the fall of 1959, when Stewart enrolled as a freshman. <strong>Maverick</strong> <strong>Science</strong> <strong>2013</strong>-<strong>14</strong> 39
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