Iain Stewart

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Iain Simpson Stewart (born 1964^[1]) is a Scottish geologist, Professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth, notable for his frequent appearances on television to promote the subject. He has presented series such as Journeys From the Centre of the Earth, Earth - The Power of the Planet, Hot Rocks and 10 Things You Didn't Know About.... He has also appeared in the Rough Science programmes. In 2008, he hosted the BBC produced Earth: The Biography, a five part series that was presented in the United States on the National Geographic Channel.

His latest series is The Climate Wars, a three part series on history of the science and politics of climate change, shown on BBC Two in September 2008.

Contents 1 Life 2 Trivia 3 Major publications 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Life

Born in East Kilbride, Scotland, he has two younger brothers, Graeme and Frazer. Iain Stewart was a child actor, and holder of an Equity card in his native Glasgow, Scotland. In 1978 he appeared in a Scottish series, Huntingtower.^[1][2] 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.^[1] 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.^[1] 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"^[3].

His second television career began when he appeared 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 BC, newly rediscovered in 2001.^[4] 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.^[5] He featured in another Horizon film, Earthquake Storms, in April 2003,^[6] before appearing as a team member in the fourth series of Rough Science (shown Jan/Feb 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.^[7]

Solo series and films he has subsequently presented include:

• Journey From The Centre Of The Earth (shown Sept/Oct 2004), six one-hour films charting how geology has shaped the history of the Mediterranean,^[8] shown in the United States on Discovery's Science Channel as Hot Rocks: Geology of Civilization.^[9] The series won the prestigious "Best Earth Science programme" award at the 2005 Jackson Hole Film Festival.^[1]
• 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.^[10]
• Earth: The Power of the Planet (Nov 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.^[11][12][13]
• Ten Things You Didn't Know About... Tsunamis (Jan 2008).
• Ten Things You Didn't Know About... Earthquakes (Jan 2008).
• Ten Things You Didn't Know About... Avalanches (Jan 2008).
• The Climate Wars (Sept 2008), three one-hour films tracing the history of the science and politics of climate change.^[14]

He now combines television appearances with work as a Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Plymouth.^[15]

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.^[16] He appears in other roles, including as a scientific commentator.^[17]

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2008)

Cerapachys iainstewarti, a species of Madagascar ant discovered in 2007, was given its name after Iain Stewart.^[18]

[edit] Major publications

• Stewart, I.S. and J. Lynch. 2008. Earth: the biography. Washington DC: National Geographic. ISBN 1426202369.
• Stewart, I.S. 2005. Journeys from the centre of the Earth: how geology shaped civilization. London: Century/Random House. ISBN 1844138135
• 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. London: the Geological Society. Special Publication, 171, 413p.
• Stewart, I.S. and C. Vita-Finzi (eds.). 1999. Coastal Tectonics. London: the Geological Society. Special Publication (ISBN 186239024x)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Iain Stewart at the Internet Movie Database