D. M. Smith

David Melville "Doc" Smith (July 27, 1884 – November 26, 1962) was an American professor and mathematician at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). During his more than forty years at the school, he was particularly known for his teaching style and personality. Georgia Tech's D. M. Smith Building, which has housed numerous academic departments, is named in his honor.

Biography

Career D. M. Smith was born in 1884 in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended Vanderbilt University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1905 and a master's degree in 1906. Upon leaving Vanderbilt, Smith began teaching mathematics at Centenary College of Louisiana. He later moved to Texas after accepting a teaching position at Fort Worth University (now part of Oklahoma City University ). Smith then returned to graduate school at the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. under the advisement of Gilbert Ames Bliss. As with the most notable research of his advisor, Smith focused on the calculus of variations in his dissertation, Jacobi's Condition for the Problem of Lagrange in the Calculus of Variations. After graduating from the University of Chicago, Smith was hired by the Georgia Institute of Technology as an assistant professor.

Smith spent over forty years as a professor of mathematics at Georgia Tech. One of Smith's duties was teaching an introductory calculus course for which he received much acclaim from students. Smith was promoted in 1922 from assistant professor to associate professor. In 1936, Smith accepted a full professorship and the position of head of the Georgia Tech Mathematics department. Smith stepped down from his department head position due to his age in 1950, The Georgia Tech Alumni Association presented Smith with an Honorary Alumnus Award in 1959. Smith died of natural causes in 1962 at age 78. He was a charter member of the Mathematical Association of America. Other Georgia Tech alumni who were instructed by Smith called him "a gifted teacher", unforgettable, likable, and "a good-hearted guy." His memorable teaching style and devotion to his students earned him the title of "legend" among alumni.

Physically, Smith was described as "a small, white-haired gentleman with a noticeable limp caused by a short leg" who "always wore a black suit with a bow tie." He was often seen driving around the Georgia Tech campus in a 1930s black coupé automobile similar to the Ramblin' Wreck.

Many academic departments have been housed in the D. M. Smith Building as institutional needs changed. The first occupants were Georgia Tech's Architecture and Physics departments. Later, the building contained offices and laboratories for the Social Sciences, Psychology, and Mathematics departments.