Robertson, Stanley

Professor of viticulture. Prof. Pool received his Ph.D from Cornell in 1974 and joined the faculty as an assistant professor of viticulture and named professor in 1988. He was a member of the American Society of Viticulture and Enology, the International Society for Horticultural Sciences, and the American Society for Horticultural Sciences. He formed, and for 10 years, chaired the Grape Commodity Advisory Committee to the National Plant Germplasm Committee. He opened his own vineyard and winery, Billsboro, in Geneva, NY, which featured several varietals, including Pinot noir made from a clonal selection based on his own research. His primary research interests included: mechanization of pruning, crop level as it affects grapes and wine quality, sustainable viticulture, vineyard floor management and weed control, the effects of cultural practices and rootstocks on cold hardiness, interaction of disease (fungal, bacterial and viral), and wine productivity.

Stanley Robertson was a master gilder and a conservator of gilded objects and frames, who mostly worked in the Washington, D.C. area. Born in Edinburgh Scotland, he took a circuitous route to becoming a conservator. He was a member of The Society of Seven, a well-known music group based in Honolulu, Hawaii. His interest in music led him into learning how to repair musical instruments. An instrument that needed repair to its gilding inspired him to learn how to gild. He apprenticed in Paris and was a journeyman in England before returning to the United States in 1984 to take a position at the National Gallery of Art. Eventually, he went into private practice. He worked for museums, private citizens, and government agencies. He was a member of several conservation organizations. He taught classes in gilding, gave lectures, and wrote papers. He died in 2003, survived by his wife Sandra Spence.