Dr. Robert Stewart

Dr. Robert Stewart, a professor in the physical section of the Texas A&M Department of Oceanography, has a long history of serving on advisory committees. After serving on several important committees at the University of California at San Diego (where he received his PhD), Dr. Stewart previously served as a senator on the Texas A&M University Faculty Senate in 1996. He will return to the TAMU Faculty Senate for the 2006-07 academic year, although is has yet to be determined exactly which positions and committees.

Dr. Stewart’s goals for the 2006-07 academic year are straightforward: He hopes to work towards addressing the needs of the College of Geosciences and be an efficient liaison between the college and the University.

“(I hope) to represent my department and the college in the senate,” he said. “(I also hope to) represent my colleagues, and to provide advice to the university administration.”

His past experience on the Faculty Senate and appointment on various committees are similar to the group tasks that Dr. Stewart does in the field as an oceanographer, as he illustrated with a specific example.

“I was project scientist for the NASA Topex/Poseidon satellite. As one of approximately 10 people guiding the development of the satellite, I learned how large projects work, and how to provide effective advice to a large organization (project budget was about 3/4 billion dollars),” Dr. Stewart said. “I have served on national and international advisory committees in the geosciences, and I have been principal investigator for many large grants and contracts.”

Dr. Stewart’s current research interests include the production of oceanographic teaching materials for elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers, the improvement of teaching of oceanography and large-scale, low-frequency variability of ocean currents. For more information on Dr. Stewart, go to

http://www-ocean.tamu.edu/Directory/Faculty/Phys/stewart.html