CURRICULUM VITAE
Kevin Malcolm Smith
LSU Foundation James C. Bolton Distinguished Professor
Professor of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry
247 Chemistry and Materials Building
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge
LA 70803
Ph: (225) 578-7442
FAX: (225) 578-3458
E-mail: kmsmith@lsu.edu
August 2001-November 2004
Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, and
Dean of the Graduate School, and
LSU Foundation James C. Bolton Distinguished Professor, and
Professor of Chemistry
Office of Research and Graduate Studies
134 David Boyd Hall
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge
LA 70803
July 1997-August 2001
Vice Chancellor for Research, and
Professor of Chemistry
University of California – Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis
CA 95616
July 1990-June 1994
Chair, Department of Chemistry
University of California – Davis
CA 95616
Personal Data:
Birthplace................................... Birmingham, England
Citizenship................................... USA
Education:
B.Sc. Chemistry (Honors, Class 1) 1964 University of Liverpool, UK
Ph.D. Organic Chemistry 1967 University of Liverpool, UK
Mentor: Professor George W. Kenner, FRS
D.Sc. Organic Chemistry 1977 University of Liverpool, UK
Professional Experience:
1967-69 Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University.
Mentor: Robert B. Woodward, NL.
1969-77 Lecturer, University of Liverpool, UK
1977-2001 Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Davis.
1990-94 Chairman, Department of Chemistry, UC Davis.
1996-97 Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, UC Davis.
1997-2001 Vice Chancellor for Research, UC Davis.
2000-2001 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reactor License Holder, UC-Davis/McClellan Air Force Base TRIGA Nuclear Reactor. Led negotiations for a $25M decomissioning contingency fee from Department of Defense.
2001-2004 Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, and
Dean of the Graduate School, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, USA.
2001- LSU Foundation James C. Bolton Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Honors:
1964 Leverhulme Prize, University of Liverpool.
1967 Parke-Davis Postgraduate Prize, University of Liverpool.
1967-69 Fulbright Award, Harvard University.
1976 Corday-Morgan Medal and Prize of Chemical Society, London.
1977 D.Sc., University of Liverpool.
1980 Corday-Morgan Lecturer at annual meeting of Chemical Society, London, in Cardiff, Wales.
1982 Vice-Chairman of Gordon Research Conference on Chemistry and Biology of Pyrrole Compounds.
1984 Chairman of Gordon Research Conference on Chemistry and Biology of Pyrrole Compounds.
1985 Visiting Professor, University of Aveiro, Portugal (3 months).
1988 Potts Medallist and Lecturer, University of Liverpool, UK.
1989-97 Visiting Professor, (University of Bourgogne, Dijon, France), 2 months/year/9 years.
1992 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Senior Fellow, Kyoto, Japan (1 month).
1994 Visiting Professor, University of Rome II, "Tor Vergata", Italy (1 month).
1995 Visiting Professor, University of Aveiro, Portugal (3 months).
1996 Visiting Professor, University of Aveiro, Portugal (1 month).
1997 Visiting Professor, University of Rome II, "Tor Vergata", Italy (1 month).
1997 University of California Management Institute. Graduated.
2000 Program Chair (Porphyrins), First International Conference on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, Dijon, France, June 25-30.
2000 Visiting Professor, (University of Bourgogne, Dijon, France), (2 months).
2000 Winner international publishing award for the best book in chemistry in 1999, awarded by the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the American Association of Publishers.
2001 Visiting Professor, University of Rennes, France (1 month).
2001 Visiting Professor, University of Rome II, “Tor Vergata”, Italy (1 month).
2002 Visiting Professor, (University of Bourgogne, Dijon, France), (1 month).
2003 Scientific Committee, 2nd International Conference on Chemistry and Its Applications, December 6-9, Doha, Qatar.
2004 Conference Co-organizer, Third International Conference on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, July 11-16.
2005-08 Elected faculty senator (College of Basic Sciences), LSU.
2006 Awarded the Robert B. Woodward Career Achievement Award in Porphyrin Chemistry (sponsored by the Society for Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines), at the Fourth International Conference on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, Rome, Italy, July 2-7.
2009 Awarded the American Chemical Society’s Alfred Bader Award in Bioorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry. National award presented: Salt Lake City, March 2009.
2010 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
2011-13 College of Science P&T Committee, (Vice-chair 2011-2012; Chair 2012-2013).
2016 Tiger Atheletic Foundation College Undergrdaduate Teaching Award.
2016-19 Elected faculty senator (College of Basic Sciences), LSU.
2018 Florida Award of the American Chemical Society
2022 LSU H.M. “Hub” Cotton Award for Faculty Excellence
2024 Life Member, Royal Society of Chemistry
Mentoring (Chemistry):
Smith has mentored 114 graduate students during his career, and has sponsored 52 postdoctoral fellows in his laboratory. He has also hosted more than a dozen foreign faculty members during their research visits and sabbatical leaves.
Research Interests:
Organic and biological chemistry: Synthesis, biosynthesis, chemistry, biochemistry, and spectroscopy of porphyrins, hemes, chlorophylls, vitamin B12, other tetrapyrrole pigments, and their metal complexes. Heterocyclic chemistry. Organic electrochemistry. Extraction of bio-active natural products, their structural characterization and synthesis.
Publications: 805 publications (as of 1/2024); h-index = 95; citations in 2023 = 904; total citations = 46,112; citations to date (in 2024) = 100 (Google Scholar):
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=7wbTBZIAAAAJ&scilu=&scisig=AMD79ooAAAAAX54aj3Li9EqfjwrzyyyZrlABD_0dFITD&gmla=AJsN-F7E4w2VBGOCU9cbLbAeVJSfFk1ZiIaRKRSe835wdKGkOI1CpX1DiRIEk0L-BD1vKz-nYo7DdxLQj1z_2OZ7Sl8gI7yRByJ1_69adxc8p-fGMzPF2CBEwM1HP1nk2dndhBomJfwC&sciund=15817974311012290846
Thomson-Reuters ISI Highly Cited researcher, 2000-.
Books (edited): 68, including 20 volumes of “The Porphyrin Handbook” and 46 volumes of “The Handbook of Porphyrin Science” (HPS). Five more HPS volumes are in progress.
Patents: 8
Uninterrupted research funding (35 years) as PI from both NIH (R01) and NSF (individual).
Most recent 5-year NIH RO1 grant (CA-132861) funded at $250,000 per year (direct costs), 2009-2014.
Editor:
Associate Editor, Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, 1997-present.
Editorial Boards:
Member Board of Editors, ARKIVOC.
Member Editorial Board, Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines.
Member Editorial Board, Heterocyclic Communications.
Federal:
Numerous NIH Study Sections and NSF Proposal Review teams. United States Food and Drug Administration Panel member.
Seminars
Smith has presented a very large number of invited talks at research institutions in Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australasia. He has given numerous plenary lectures at national meetings of chemical societies in the USA, UK, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, France, Italy, Germany and Argentina, and has given keynote addresses and major invited presentations at Gordon Research Conferences and national and international meetings of disciplinary groups (IUPAC, UK Tetrapyrrole Group, Society for Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, Chemical Society of London, Royal Society of London, American Chemical Society, The Electrochemiocal Society, SPIE, Photodynamic Therapy Association, French Chemical Society, International Photodynamic Association, etc.).
Initiatives in Support of Chemistry:
Smith’s major contributions to Chemistry involve his mentoring of more than 110 graduate students (almost all Ph.D.) and more than 50,postdoctorals. Many of these individuals have moved on to very imptressive careers in acedemia and in the chemical industry. He also served for more than 4 years as the Chairperson of the Department of Chemistry in UC Davis. The early 1990s, while Smith was Chair, were a particularly difficult time for the University of California (budget cuts, early retirement, hiring freezes) but under his leaderaship the Department flourished and maintained or even increased its momentum. As a senior administrator (Vice Chancellor, Graduate Dean), Smith used the principles he adopted to facilitate Chemistry Department improvements, and applied them to the whole campus at UC Davis and LSU. In particular, in LSU as Dean of the Graduate School he did everything possible to improve conditions for Graduate Students (full tuition waivers for all graduate students, new graduate assistant funding and travel opportunities, Graduate Student health insurance, etc.) al;eays with an eye on how Chemistry Graduate Students would be affected; the LSU Chemistry Department has the largest graduate program on the LSU campus. During Smith’s tenure as Vice Chancellor for Research at UC Davis the TRIGA reactor at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, CA, was slated for decommissioning. NIH funded research projects between the Chemistry Department and the Department of Neurological Surgery in the UC Davis Medical School were attempting to get access to this reactor because they wanted to test synthetic drugs for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) of gliomas using epithermal neutrons. As Vice Chancellor for Research at UC Davis, Smith negotiated with the Departtment of Defense to secure the nuclear reactor for the University of California, Davis; at the same time he negotiated a $25M eventual decomissioning fee from the Air Force, and then successfully presented the case for taking over the reactor at a formal meeting of the UC Board of Regents. As a result, the reactopr became the property of the UC System, and Smith became the first non-General officer to be the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Licensee of the reactor until he left Davis in 2001.
Finally, Smith has coedited 66 books on the subjects of his resesarch interestes (porphyrins, phthalocyanines, hemes, chlorophylls), and their commercial applications, and has been an Associate Editor of the field’s dedicated journal (Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines) since its inception in 1997. In 2018 the Florida Section of the American Chemical Society awarded Smith the Florida Award, “in recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Chemistry”. Subsequently, in 2022, Smith was awarded the H.M. “Hub” Cotton Award for Faculty Excellence by LSU.
Senior Administrative Experience:
(1) As Vice Chancelor for Research at UC-Davis (1997-2001), Smith was responsible for the promotion and vitality of the entire research enterprise for all academic colleges and units, comprising the traditional academic colleges as well as the School of Veterinary Medicince, the School of Medicine, the College of Agriculture, Agricultural Cooperative Extension, the School of Law, and several campus Natural Reserves. Vice Chancellor Smith was also responsible for outreach and for cultivating relationships with government and industry, for compliance with all research-related regulations and standards, for assisting faculty in developing research and scholarly studies, for coordination of all research and scholarship proposals to State and extramural agencies, and for coordination of patenting and licensing of intellectual property. Compliance committee responsibilities included: animal care and use; biohazard safety; conflict of interest in research; institutional medical review board (IRB) administration; research ethics, and research misconduct investigations. Ten UC-System-approved Organized Research Units (ORUs) reported directly to Smith (Air Quality Research Center, Bodega Marine Laboratory, California National Primate Research Center, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, Crocker Nuclear Laboratory, Institute of Governmental Affairs, Institute of Transportation Studies, John Muir Institute of the Environment, and the Program in International and Community Nutrition). He was also responsible for promotion of interdisciplinary research and for design and implementation of strategic initiatives. The Office of Sponsored Programs for the Davis campus reported directly to Smith, and this was used as a model for the eventual transfer of LSU Sponsored Programs to Smith’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies in 2003-2004.
The ultimate goal was preeminence in all areas of research and scholarly endeavor.
Selected accomplishments (1997-2001):
Extramural funding awards and expenditures increased by 76% in four years.
Campus-submitted research grant requests topped $1B for the first time (in 2000).
Increased indirect cost returns to faculty by 50%.
Led negotiations for increase in UC Davis research overhead formula with Federal agencies (a 4% increase over 5 years).
Inaugurated new Technology Transfer Center, along with transfer of all UC Davis patent properties from the Office of the UC President (Oakland, CA) to UC Davis. A new Director and several patent staff (including attorneys) were hired.
Inaugurated UC Davis “CONNECT” (a program designed to foster the success of new business ventures in the Sacramento region).
Led negotiations for transfer of McClellan Air Force base TRIGA nuclear reactor from the US Department of Defense to UC Davis, along with $25M (eventual) decomissioning fund. Secured approval of UC Board of Regents to take over reactor at regular Regents meeting. NRC license transferred from Air Force General to Smith (after FBI background check). Developed business plan for use of reactor for semiconductor and clinical purposes. Analyzed all ways to “sell” neutrons to cover operational expenses. Led negotiations for contract with SAIC International for day to day operations of reactor.
(2) As Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, and Dean of the Graduate School at LSU, Smith was broadly responsible for campus-wide research and scholarly development and support, technology transfer and intellectual property matters, management and oversight of selected research-related centers, programs and facilities (see below), outreach activities with the public and private sectors that promote campus research initiatives, plus overall responsibility for graduate education (graduate programs, scholarships, funding, student evaluation, faculty membership in the School).
Selected accomplishments (2001-2004):
Extramural funding awards and expenditures increased by 46% in three years ($93M-$136M).
Initiated discussion of health insurance for graduate students (2004).
Designed and implemented Graduate Assistant Tuition Remission Program.
Designed and implemented Graduate Student Travel Program.
Designed and implemented Faculty Seed Research Grant Program ($750,000).
Designed and implemented Faculty Research Travel Program ($250,000).
Designed and implemented Indirect Cost rebate increase from 10 to 15%.
Designed and implemented Economic Development Graduate Assistantship Program ($1,240,000).
Organized faculty PIs to competitively win 82% of Governor’s Biotechnology Initiative Funds available from Louisiana Board of Regents (BoR).
As member of BoR Support Fund Committee successfully presented the case for a new post-doctoral scholars program, adopted by BoR.
Gained approval from BoR and Board of Supervisors for several new Centers (CCT, LCAC, Hurricane Center, etc.).
Negotiated (with VC Baudin) the transfer of the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (2003).
Supported implementation of Sponsored Programs System (SPS) within OSP (2004).
Service, academic, and economic development community responsibilities at LSU included:
Chair:
Office of Research and Graduate Studies Council of Directors
Graduate Council (2001-2004)
Task Force on Graduate Assistant Tuition Remission, 2002
Recruitment Committee for LSU Center for Computational Technology (CCT) Executive Director. Completed, first choice candidate.
Recruitment Committee for LSU Center for Computational Technology (CCT) Core IT Leader (and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering). Completed, first choice candidate, (Edward Siedel)..
Co-Chair, Technical Committee, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), 2002-2003.
Member:
Executive Board, LUMCON (Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium), 2001-2004.
Executive Board, CREST (Coastal Restoration and Enhancement Through Science and Technology), 2001-2004.
Executive Board of LSU Center for Computational Technology (CCT), 2001-2004.
Executive Director Search Committee, LUMCON, 2002-2004. Completed.
Board of Directors, Research Park Corporation, Baton Rouge, 2001-2004.
Board of Directors, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), 2002-2004.
Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), 2002-2004.
Corporate and Public Policy Committee, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), 2003-2004.
Audit Committee, Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), 2003-2004.
Board of Trustees, Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), 2001-2004.
Development Committee, Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), 2003-2004.
Advisory Board, Louisiana Business and Technology Center (LBTC), 2001-2004.
Industrial Advisory Board, Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD), 2002-2004.
Councilor, Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), 2001-2004.
Louisiana Board of Regents, Support Fund Planning Committee, 2001-2004.
LSU Chancellor’s Executive Staff, 2001-2004.
LSU Council of Deans and Directors, 2001-2004.
LSU Council of Academic Deans, 2003-2004.
LSU Budget Committee, 2001-2004.
LSU Information Technology Policy Committee, 2002-2004.
Voting member, NASULGC (National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges) Council on Research Policy and Graduate Education (CRPGE) 2001-2004.
Economic Outlook Committee, Chamber of Commerce of Greater Baton Rouge, 2003-2004.
LSU Deans and Directors Committee on Administrative Matters (2001-2004).
Panelist, “Sponsored Research and Integrity: Making Connections Outside the Academy”, 66th Annual Conference of Louisiana Colleges and Universities, New Orleans, March 18-19, 2004.
Board of Directors (for Chancellor), LSU System Research and Technology Foundation, 2004.
Search Committee, Executive Director, Louisiana Emerging Technology Center. 2004. Completed, Ed Siedel appointed.
LSU System Council of Chief Research Officers, founding member, 2004.
LSU University Planning Council, 2004.
LSU Units reporting to Vice Chancellor and Dean Smith:
Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
The Graduate School.
Center for Advanced Microstructures & Devices (CAMD).
Center for Biomodular Multi-Scale Systems (CBM2).
Center for Computation and Technology (CCT).
Center for Energy Studies.
Center for French and Francophone Studies.
Center for Geoinformatics.
Fire and Emergency Training Institute (FETI).
Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Law Enforcement Online (LEO).
Life Course and Aging Center.
Louisiana Oil Spill Program.
Louisiana Geological Survey.
Louisiana Space Consortium.
LSU Hurricane Center.
National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT).
National Center for Security Research and Training (NCSRT).
Office of Intellectual Property (OIP).
Office of Sea Grant Development.
Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
Radiation Safety Office.