Stuart grew up in the Aberdeenshire farming community, and studied first in Aberdeen, and then at the University of East Anglia. Prior to joining the UHI, he worked with the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, University of East Anglia and with the British Antarctic Survey, including participation in national and international research programmes in Antarctica, the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and the Mediterranean and Northern Seas.
Stuart joined the North Highland College (NHC) to establish the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) in Thurso: a centre which now employs around forty staff and research students. Here he is committed to developing research & knowledge exchange; learning & teaching; enterprise and outreach around contemporary environmental issues focused on the priorities of ‘Renewable Energy and the Environment’; ‘Carbon water and Climate’, and ‘Environmental Contamination and Ecological Health’

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