Awards & Scholarships

Cyril Stanley Smith was born in Birmingham, England, in 1903; he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1940. From the University of Birmingham, he received a B.Sc. in 1924 and from M.I.T. a D.Sc. in 1926 while he was a Research Associate.

From 1927 to 1942, Dr. Smith was Research Metallurgist with the American Brass Co. He then spent one year as Research Supervisor with the National Defense Research Committee in Washington. From 1943 to 1946, he was Associate Division Leader in Charge of Metallurgy at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. Following this, he spent ten years as Director of the Institute for the Study of Metals at the University of Chicago. He was Professor of Metallurgy at that University from 1946 to 1961 when he accepted his present post as Institute Professor, Professor of History of Technology and Science, and Professor of Metallurgy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Among the many awards conferred on Dr. Smith, AIME honored him with the Robert W. Hunt Award in 1934 and the Mathewson Award in 1936. He was the Institute of Metals Division Lecturer in 1948. His chief fields of research are in physical metallurgy; the role of interface energy and topology in structure of polycrystalline materials; historical interaction between science and technology. He is the author of several widely recognized publications and was a member of the General Advisory Committee, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission from 1946 to 1952, and of the President's Science Advisory Committee in 1959.

The many awards conferred upon Dr. Smith include the Institute's Hunt Award in 1934 and the Mathewson Award in 1936. He was the Institute of Metals Division Lecturer in 1948. The U.S. Presidential Medal for Merit was awarded to Dr. Smith in 1946.

He was a member of the General Advisory Committee of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission from 1946 to 1952 and of the President's Science Advisory Committee in 1959. His chief fields of research are in physical metallurgy, the role of interface energy and topology in structure of polycrystalline material, and historical interaction between science and technology.