He studied Applied Mathematics for his undergraduate degree at the University of Adelaide, where his principal mentor was Professor R. B. Potts.

In it, he made a revolutionary approach of using matched asymptotic expansions in order to predict the wave resistance of a slender ship.

[3] In 1963 Tuck went to the United States to work with Francis Ogilvie and John Nicholas Newman at the David Taylor Model Basin, and subsequently with Ted Wu at Caltech.

He worked on topics related to ship hydrodynamics, acoustics, bio-fluid mechanics, and numerical analysis.

[3] He published over 180 papers covering a wide range of topics in: Survived by wife Helen (née Wood), two sons Warren and Geoff, and their grandchildren.