Gerald W. Smith
Encyclopedia
Gerald W. Smith is the American
author
of "Engineering Economy: Analysis of Capital Expenditures" (Iowa State Press) the textbook used by several generations of Industrial Engineering
college students from around the world. He is an Emeritus Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State University
in Ames, Iowa
where he was a Professor
of Industrial Engineering
from 1956-1988. He received degrees in Engineering
from Iowa State University
with a Bachelor of Science in 1952, Masters of Science in 1958, P.H.D. in 1961. His 1958 masters theses was entitled "The Obsolescence Allowance in Equipment Replacement Decisions" and his 1961 P.H.D. dissertation "Regulatory Policies on Liberalized Depreciation and Their Effects Upon Public Utilities."
Four editions of his textbook were published in 1968, 1973, 1979, and 1987. While writing his book, Smith worked in his home office next to a window overlooking the house next door where Iowa State University
professor
John Vincent Atanasoff
had lived while building the world's first electronic digital computer
from 1937-1942.
He served in virtually all of the Offices of the Engineering Economy Division of American Society for Engineering Education
(ASEE), including the chairmanship. In 1964 he was Iowa State's representative at the General Electric Professors conference; in 1968-1971 he was designated Iowa State's Alcoa
Professor; in 1969 he was recipient of the Eugene L. Grant Award for best paper in The Engineering Economist from the American Society for Engineering Education
(ASEE). From 1970 - 1976 he served that journal as an associate editor for Book Reviews; he has also served on the editorial board of IIE Transactions. He and his graduate students contribute gratis their efforts in the annual publication Engineering Economy Abstracts, which he originated. In 1974 he received the Iowa State University Faculty Citation; in 1981 he received the Outstanding Teacher Award from Iowa State's College of Engineering; in 1986 the Engineering Economy Division of the Institute for Industrial Engineers named him recipient of the Wellington Award for Outstanding Contributions in Engineering
Economy
. He has consulting and industrial experience, and is a registered professional engineer.
In addition to teaching at Iowa State, Smith taught engineering
extension classes to Bell Telephone
Systems engineers for two decades. He taught classes off-campus in Cedar Rapids, Waterloo
and Dubuque
, Iowa
, and to Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill
and Holmdel, New Jersey; Virgin Islands
Telephone Company in St. Thomas
, USVI; Otter Tail Power Company in Fergus Falls, Minnesota
, and Alberta Telephone
in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
He grew up in Sioux City, Iowa
and played trumpet
in his high school band
at Sioux City Central High School.
He lives in Ames, Iowa
with his wife Phyllis and is the father of photographer Brian Smith
of Miami Beach, Florida.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of "Engineering Economy: Analysis of Capital Expenditures" (Iowa State Press) the textbook used by several generations of Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
college students from around the world. He is an Emeritus Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
in Ames, Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
where he was a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
from 1956-1988. He received degrees in Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
from Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
with a Bachelor of Science in 1952, Masters of Science in 1958, P.H.D. in 1961. His 1958 masters theses was entitled "The Obsolescence Allowance in Equipment Replacement Decisions" and his 1961 P.H.D. dissertation "Regulatory Policies on Liberalized Depreciation and Their Effects Upon Public Utilities."
Four editions of his textbook were published in 1968, 1973, 1979, and 1987. While writing his book, Smith worked in his home office next to a window overlooking the house next door where Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
John Vincent Atanasoff
John Vincent Atanasoff
John Vincent Atanasoff was an American physicist and inventor.The 1973 decision of the patent suit Honeywell v. Sperry Rand named him the inventor of the first automatic electronic digital computer...
had lived while building the world's first electronic digital computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
from 1937-1942.
He served in virtually all of the Offices of the Engineering Economy Division of American Society for Engineering Education
American Society for Engineering Education
The American Society for Engineering Education is a non-profit member association, founded in 1893, dedicated to promoting and improving engineering and engineering technology education....
(ASEE), including the chairmanship. In 1964 he was Iowa State's representative at the General Electric Professors conference; in 1968-1971 he was designated Iowa State's Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
Professor; in 1969 he was recipient of the Eugene L. Grant Award for best paper in The Engineering Economist from the American Society for Engineering Education
American Society for Engineering Education
The American Society for Engineering Education is a non-profit member association, founded in 1893, dedicated to promoting and improving engineering and engineering technology education....
(ASEE). From 1970 - 1976 he served that journal as an associate editor for Book Reviews; he has also served on the editorial board of IIE Transactions. He and his graduate students contribute gratis their efforts in the annual publication Engineering Economy Abstracts, which he originated. In 1974 he received the Iowa State University Faculty Citation; in 1981 he received the Outstanding Teacher Award from Iowa State's College of Engineering; in 1986 the Engineering Economy Division of the Institute for Industrial Engineers named him recipient of the Wellington Award for Outstanding Contributions in Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
Economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
. He has consulting and industrial experience, and is a registered professional engineer.
In addition to teaching at Iowa State, Smith taught engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
extension classes to Bell Telephone
Bell Telephone
Bell Telephone may refer to:* Bell Telephone Company, several telephone companies with similar names* Bell Telephone Building , various* The Bell Telephone Hour, a long-running radio and television concert program...
Systems engineers for two decades. He taught classes off-campus in Cedar Rapids, Waterloo
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
and Dubuque
Dubuque
-Places:United States* Dubuque, Iowa* Dubuque County, Iowa* Dubuque, Kansas* East Dubuque, Illinois* University of Dubuque* USS Dubuque-Surnames:* Julien Dubuque, a French Canadian who arrived near what now is known as Dubuque, Iowa...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, and to Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill
Murray Hill, New Jersey
Murray Hill is an unincorporated area within portions of both Berkeley Heights and New Providence, located in Union County in northern New Jersey, United States....
and Holmdel, New Jersey; Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
Telephone Company in St. Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
, USVI; Otter Tail Power Company in Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,138 at the 2010 census.-Today:...
, and Alberta Telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
He grew up in Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
and played trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
in his high school band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
at Sioux City Central High School.
He lives in Ames, Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
with his wife Phyllis and is the father of photographer Brian Smith
Brian Smith (photographer)
Brian Smith is an American photographer best known for his celebrity portrait photography. Born in Ames, Iowa, he got his start in photography while a high school swimmer photographing swimming and other sports as a stringer for the Ames Daily Tribune...
of Miami Beach, Florida.