Jimmy Stewart, Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Jimmy Stewart, Diving Officer Emeritus, Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego

Jimmy Stewart, a native of San Diego, has been associated with Scripps Institute of Oceanography since 1952 and held the position of diving officer from 1960 until his retirement in 1991. He remains active in the Scripps diving program. He began diving in 1941 and is one of a dozen individuals at Scripps who, in the early 1950s, began developing training procedures and data collecting techniques that would allow scientists to use diving as a means of conducting underwater research. During the early 1960s, he developed the original University Guide for Diving Safety.

The scientific community recognizes Jimmy as an expert on the interactions of divers and the marine environment, including marine mammals. Since 1967, he has been responsible for the training and evaluation of all scientists conducting research diving in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans under the auspices of the National Science Foundation's Division of Polar Programs, a position he maintains even after his retirement from Scripps. He also acts as the consultant to NASA. He has participated in the development of techniques used in the underwater training of astronauts for extravehicular activity. In addition, Jimmy serves as diving consultant to the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI, U.S. Army Special Forces, National Park Service, and many universities nationwide.

Jimmy was one of the initial inductees into the NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) Hall of Honor held during NAUI's 40th Anniversary Reunion in Houston, Texas in 2000. In 1992, Jimmy received the National Conservation Award from the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. In 1991, he was elected to the Diving Industry's Hall of Fame by receiving the first Pioneer Award from the Diving Equipment Manufacturers Association. In 1990, he was honored as the San Diego Lifeguard Service's Citizen of the Year. He was the recipient of the Conrad Limbaugh Memorial Award from Los Angeles County in 1989. He is one of only two American recipients of the Golden Trident Award (1987) presented by the southern European research diving community for lifelong contributions to research diving and diving safety. He received the Craig Hoffman Memorial Safety Award from the Undersea Medical Society and the Leonard Greenstone Award from the International Conference on Underwater Education and the National Association of Underwater Instructors.