Alexander K. Stewart, USA (ret)

Dr. Stewart, retired from the U.S. Army, is a veteran of the Cold War and three foreign wars; 20+ years of experience and life-changing events make him a unique professor.  His experiences in the Army in Alaska directed his interests to obtain a PhD in glacial geology and be a glacial geology/geomorphology professor from eastern Kentucky to western Texas and north to St. Lawrence University.

Dr. Stewart’s research interests are varied, covering all aspects of surface geology.  Dr. Stewart and his students use a variety of techniques to capture surface-geology data–from tree-rings and lake-and-bog cores and standard mapping techniques.  Recent student projects have covered dating of rockfall events in Alaska using tree-rings and ecesis intervals, leaf-wax work in the Adirondacks supported by the NSF, evaluation of GIS imagery options for data collection, climatic controls on white pine in the Adirondacks using tree rings, X-Ray diffractometry of glacier-lake sediments in the High Andes, Peru, ice-flow indicators in the Juneau Icefield and the Adirondacks, geological controls on wind thrown white pines in the Adirondacks and the impact of geomorphology on the Battle of Sackets Harbor (1813).  Personally, Dr. Stewart has been working on the inclusion of geological-reasoning training with the military and has been working with Dr. John (Jack) Shroder of the Center of Afghanistan Studies on water-resource management in Afghanistan.  In addition, Dr. Stewart is an avid scorpion biologist researching behavior on his self-collected scorpions from Iraq, Afghanistan, China and elsewhere; recently, he and colleagues authored six new scorpion species from Central Asia.

I live on the mighty St. Lawrence River in Morristown, NY with my family; we also have a home in the city of Ottawa just 75 mins to the north where my wife works (remotely and in person).  We straddle both worlds—rural and urban and leverage both to make the most fulfilling time of our “North Country [south country to Canadians!].”