During college, Mr. Smith worked at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Maryland in 1980, and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Pittsburgh in 1992. In between, he worked in two different research labs doing electron microscopy (scanning and transmission). He has previously taught at two high schools in Pennsylvania and one in Maryland, and has taught chemistry from the applied level up to International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP). He is the author or co-author of ten published research papers.

He is married (to Mary) and has one daughter (Becky) and one son (Alex). His hobbies include hiking & camping, biking, weightlifting, lots of reading, woodworking, and gardening. And he fully agrees with Mrs. Sibert - chemistry is the ULTIMATE subject to study.