Dick Smith at February 2020 collation of MilwApa

Richard H.E. Smith II is a Chicago, Illinois- and Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based software engineer, computer consultantDick Smith LinkedIn Public Profile
/ref> and a science fiction

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

publisher.

Science fiction fandom

As a science fiction fan, Smith, with his wife, Leah Zeldes Smith, was 1993 winner of the

Down Under Fan Fund The Down Under Fan Fund, also known as ''DUFF'', was created in 1970 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. History DUFF was creat ...

and delegate to Swancon 18, the Australian National Science Fiction Convention in Perth, Australia, as well as to fan centers throughout the country. He has been selected as fan guest of honor by numerous science fiction conventions, including Windycon (1995), ArmadilloCon (1995), First Contact (1998), ConQuesT (2000), Whatcon (1985) and Corflu (1991),Science Fiction Fan Gallery
/ref> and has been a toastmaster at such conventions as ConFusion and a frequent speaker and panelist on subjects related to fandom, fan publishing, science fiction and technology. The Smiths' fanzine '' STET'' was a three-time

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

nominee. In the 1980s, Smith published the Hogu Award-winning title, ''Uncle Dick's Little Thing.'' He was extensively active in numerous amateur press associations during the 1970s and '80s, including the Fantasy Amateur Press Association and The Cult.; he co-founded Windyapa. The Smiths are currently members of the Milwaukee-based MilwApa. Dick was a recipient of the Peter J. Vorzimer Award. Smith and his wife organized ''ditto'', a fanzine convention, in 1990 and 2001, and have worked on many Worldcons and other science fiction conventions, including the 2014 NASFiC and the 2015 Sasquan. They were the U.S. agents who spearheaded bidding efforts for

Aussiecon Three The 57th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Aussiecon Three, was held on 2–6 September 1999 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia. The convention was chaired by Perry Middlemiss. ...

, and he was appointed Aussiecon's representative to the World Science Fiction Society's Mark Protection Committee. Smith is a member of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, the

Cincinnati Fantasy Group Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and General Technics. Smith is known within fandom for his interest in and collection of antique printing techniques and devices, such as hectographs, letterpresses, spirit duplicators, mimeographs and obsolete computers.Millennium Philcon Program Participant Biographies
/ref>

Personal and professional life

Smith is founder and president of Dick Smith Software, a comprehensive computer consulting and network engineering firm in the Chicago area.Dick Smith Software website
/ref> Prior to that, he developed software for such companies as Northrop Grumman,

U.S. Robotics U.S. Robotics Corporation, often called USR, is a company that produces USRobotics computer modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog ...

and

3Com 3Com Corporation was an American digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney and others. Bill Krause joined as President in 1981. Metcalfe ex ...

. In his professional work, Smith contributes to science fiction, serving as a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

to such authors as

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

and Mike Resnick. Smith was one of the inventors of a "Method and protocol for connecting data calls using R2 signaling" granted U.S. Patent 6,233,237 in 2001. He contributed to the textbook ''LAN Times Guide to Telephony'' (Osborne/McGraw-Hill).

Personal life

Smith was born in Milwaukee and reared in West Bend, Wisconsin, the eldest of the three sons of Richard H.E. Smith and Marilyn R.J. Smith. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin. He has been married to Leah Zeldes Smith since 1985; an incident at their wedding inspired Mike Resnick's novel '' The Dark Lady''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Richard H.E., II American computer programmers People from Chicago Businesspeople from Milwaukee People from West Bend, Wisconsin Science fiction fans American software engineers University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Living people Engineers from Illinois Year of birth missing (living people)