Stewart studied physics at the University of Arizona, graduating in 1988 with a minor in business.
She went to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for graduate study in particle physics, earning a master's degree in 1990 and completing her Ph.D. in 1994.
[2] Her dissertation, Search for CP Violation in D-Meson Decays, was supervised by Bob I.
[2] Stewart was elected to the presidential chain and served on the board of directors of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) (president for the 2013–2014 term).
[4] She was the 2019 winner of the Oersted Medal of the AAPT, for "her outstanding, widespread, and lasting impact on the teaching of physics through her pioneering national leadership in physics education, her exceptional service to AAPT, and her mentoring of students and in-service teachers".