• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Departments
    • Bioengineering
    • Civil and Environmental Engineering
    • Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
    • Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
    • Materials Science and Engineering
    • Mechanical Engineering
    • Nuclear Engineering
    • Aerospace program
    • Engineering Science program
  • News
    • Berkeley Engineer magazine
    • Social media
    • News videos
    • News digest (email)
    • Press kit
  • Events
    • Events calendar
    • Commencement
    • Homecoming
    • Cal Day
    • Space reservations
    • View from the Top
    • Kuh Lecture Series
    • Minner Lecture
  • College directory
  • For staff & faculty
Berkeley Engineering

Educating leaders. Creating knowledge. Serving society.

  • About
    • Facts & figures
    • Rankings
    • Mission & values
    • Equity & inclusion
    • Voices of Berkeley Engineering
    • Leadership team
    • Milestones
    • Buildings & facilities
    • Maps
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate admissions
    • Graduate admissions
    • New students
    • Visit
    • Maps
    • Admissions events
    • K-12 outreach
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate programs
    • Majors & minors
    • Undergraduate Guide
    • Graduate programs
    • Graduate Guide
    • Innovation & entrepreneurship
    • Kresge Engineering Library
    • International programs
    • Executive education
  • Students
    • New students
    • Advising & counseling
    • ESS programs
    • CAEE academic support
    • Student life
    • Wellness & inclusion
    • Undergraduate Guide
    • > Degree requirements
    • > Policies & procedures
    • Forms & petitions
    • Resources
  • Research & faculty
    • Centers & institutes
    • Undergrad research
    • Faculty
    • Sustainability and resiliency
  • Connect
    • Alumni
    • Industry
    • Give
    • Stay in touch
Home > News > Bob Jewett’s double life
Bob Jewett lines up a pool shot

Bob Jewett’s double life

Cover of the Spring 2017 Berkeley Engineer magazine, featuring Costas Spanos biking past the new Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
May 1, 2017 by Paul Preuss
This article appeared in Berkeley Engineer magazine, Spring 2017
  • In this issue
    Students with 3D printer waste

    Smart moves

    Cartoon from story on campus startups

    Startups on campus

    Dean Shankar Sastry introduces a faculty panel at a Dean’s Society event

    Dean's word

    Upfront

    • Lab to table
    • Carol Christ named chancellor
    • Crowdfunding disperses capital
    • Boosting robotics in manufacturing
    • Exercising with Cal Fitness
    • Q+A on resilient communities
    • Comments
    • High jump
    • Reading minds
    • Safer transfusions
    • The rule-breaker
    • Small wonder

    Alumni notes

    • NAE Class of 2017
    • Four alumni named to Forbes' 30­-Under­-30 list
    • Shielding ice sheets
    • New UC Davis chancellor
    • Bob Jewett's double life
    • Farewell
  • Past issues

Bob Jewett (B.S.’75, M.S.’79 EECS) spent his undergraduate career — interrupted by a stint in the Air Force in Vietnam — and then his graduate studies at Berkeley. He built a distinguished career at Hewlett-Packard and its descendants, Agilent and Keysight, was awarded five patents in the area of signal generation and analysis and retired in 2015.

Jewett’s billiards skills blossomed during his graduate years, and he began seeking the best way to teach cue sports to others. Players aren’t born experts, and until the late 20th century, learning from pros was rare. Jewett describes most instruction as “Old Joe over in the corner at your local pool hall, who could show you some shots if you’d pay for his time at the table.”

His instructional output includes hundreds of articles and instructional videos. He’s the chief editor of the World Pool Billiards Association’s World Standardized Rules. “I’m pretty much into rules,” he says, while admitting that “most champions have never read them.”

Last April, Jewett competed at the 2016 U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship in Connecticut. While he didn’t take the top spot, he beat the U.S. champion 125 to 81.

Bob Jewett’s double life, master of pool and expert engineer, gives him access to a satisfaction denied many: scientific insight into a sport as only a virtuoso can grasp it.

Topics: Alumni
  • Contact
  • Give
  • Privacy
  • UC Berkeley
  • Accessibility
  • Nondiscrimination
  • instagram
  • X logo
  • linkedin
  • facebook
  • youtube
© 2025 UC Regents