Stewart Greenhalgh obtained BSc, MSc and DSc degrees from Sydney University, and a PhD from the University of MInnesota. He has held professorial appointments at Flinders University, Adelaide University, ETH Zurich and King Fahd University, and completed sabbaticals at Oxford, Minneapolis, Toronto and Zurich. He has published extensively in theoretical and experimental geophysics and supervised many postdocs, PhD and MSc students. He has been a Consultant to the mining and petroleum industry as well as government agencies. He is a Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics and has been Editor of several journals.

Following his appointment at Flinders University in 1981 as the junior academic of a small but highly regarded Geophysics Group, Stewart Greenhalgh quickly rose to become its leader and expanded its activities through his untiring work to bring the mutual interests of research, teaching and industry in Seismology and Geophysics to new Australian heights.

Students, from Australia and overseas, sought his lecture courses and research supervision, while industry recognised the value of his participation and governments his thoughtful advice, diplomatically given.

His appointment to one of Australia's most prestigious University chairs in 1997 confirmed his pre-eminent international-status.