Lloyd M. Smith (born October 3, 1954) is a professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and the founder of Third Wave Technologies.

Early life

Smith spent his formative years in Berkeley, California, where his parents worked as professors of physics and mathematics. He majored in biochemistry at the University of California in 1976, performing research with

Wayne Hubbell Wayne L. Hubbell (born 24 March 1943) is an American biochemist and member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is Professor of Biochemistry and Jules Stein Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His researc ...

, and subsequently obtained his PhD from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

for his work on membrane diffusion with

Harden M. McConnell Harden M. McConnell (July 18, 1927 – October 8, 2014) was an American physical chemist. His many awards included the National Medal of Science and the Wolf Prize, and he was elected to the National Academy of Science." Education and career Hard ...

Career

In 1982, Smith did post-doctorate work with

Leroy Hood Leroy "Lee" Edward Hood (born October 10, 1938) is an American biologist who has served on the faculties at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Washington. Hood has developed ground-breaking scientific instrum ...

at the California Institute of Technology, where he created the world's first fluorescence-based automated DNA sequencing instrument. During the early 80s he also worked as a consultant for Applied Biosystems, who were able to commercialise the sequencing process he developed and bring it to market. This sequencing process was to have a direct effect on the development of the

Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a ...

. In 1987, Smith joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an assistant professor; he subsequently held posts there as chair of the analytical sciences division and director of the university's Genome Center. He has held posts on the boards of Visible Genetics, GWC Technologies, and founded Third Wave Technologies and Gentel BioSciences.

Academic research and publications

Smith has authored or co-authored over 250 papers. He holds over 30 U.S. patents for his inventions in the field of biochemistry. He held the

John D. MacArthur John Donald MacArthur (March 6, 1897 – January 6, 1978) was an American insurance magnate, real estate investor and philanthropist who established the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, benefactor in the MacArthur Fellowships. ...

Chair in Chemistry at Wisconsin-Madison, and is currently the W. L. Hubbell Professor of Chemistry there. He was listed as one of the Top 100 Innovators by '' Science Digest'', has won a

Presidential Young Investigator Award The Presidential Young Investigator Award (PYI) was awarded by the National Science Foundation of the United States Federal Government. The program operated from 1984 to 1991, and was replaced by the NSF Young Investigator (NYI) Awards and Presiden ...

, and has received an Eli Lilly Analytical Chemistry Award. Because of his work on automated DNA sequencing Smith was awarded the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities Award in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lloyd M. 1954 births Living people American biochemists University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty University of California alumni Stanford University alumni People from Berkeley, California