Biochemistry, 2nd Edition

Professor Michael B. Smith

Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1946, Professor Michael B. Smith moved to Madison Heights, Virginia in 1957, where he attended Amherst County High School. He earned an A.A. from Ferrum College in 1967 and a B.S. in chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1969.

Following three years as an analytical chemist at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in Newport News, Virginia, he pursued graduate studies at Purdue University, obtaining a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1977 under the guidance of Professor Joe Wolinsky.

Professor Smith then completed a year of faculty research at Arizona State University with Professor G. Robert Pettit, focusing on the isolation of cytotoxic compounds from plants and sponges. He followed this with a second postdoctoral year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Professor Sidney M. Hecht, concentrating on the synthesis of bleomycin A2.

His academic career commenced at the University of Connecticut in 1979, where he rose to the rank of Professor of Chemistry. In 1986, he took a sabbatical leave to serve as a visiting professor in the laboratories of Professor Leon Ghosez at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

Professor Smith retired as a full professor from the University of Connecticut on January 1, 2017, and is currently dedicated to his work as an author.