Richard J. Smith (anthropologist)
Encyclopedia
Richard Jay Smith, an American anthropologist, (b. 1948 - ) is Ralph E. Morrow Distinguished Professor of Physical Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis
. He is now Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
in that borough in 1965 and spent his undergraduate years at Brooklyn College
, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1969. He went on to Tufts University
to earn a M.S. in Anatomy as well as a DMD. After Tufts, he studied at Yale University
where he earned a masters in philosophy in 1978 and a doctorate in anthropology in 1980.
Among undergraduates, Smith is famous for his course "Introduction to Human Evolution," which was one of the most popular classes on campus until his appointment as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 2008. The course features topics from the historical development of the theory of evolution, fossil evidence, the morphological features of primates, to the beginnings of modern humans and is noted by many students to be particularly engaging, due in part to Smith's dynamic teaching style.
Smith, R.J.
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
. He is now Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
Education
Richard Jay Smith, hailing from Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High SchoolSamuel J. Tilden High School
Samuel J. Tilden High School is a New York City public high school in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. It is named for Samuel J. Tilden, the former governor of New York State and presidential candidate who, although carrying the popular vote, lost to Rutherford B...
in that borough in 1965 and spent his undergraduate years at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1969. He went on to Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
to earn a M.S. in Anatomy as well as a DMD. After Tufts, he studied at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
where he earned a masters in philosophy in 1978 and a doctorate in anthropology in 1980.
At Washington University
Richard Smith joined the faculty at Washington University in 1984 and served as a professor and chair of the Department of Orthodontics, in the former School of Dental Medicine. He joined the Department of Anthropology in 1991. He founded the Program in Applied Statistics and Computation, now the Center for Applied Statistics, at Washington University, and he served as its first director from 2002-04.Among undergraduates, Smith is famous for his course "Introduction to Human Evolution," which was one of the most popular classes on campus until his appointment as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 2008. The course features topics from the historical development of the theory of evolution, fossil evidence, the morphological features of primates, to the beginnings of modern humans and is noted by many students to be particularly engaging, due in part to Smith's dynamic teaching style.
Research
Smith is a specialist in the application of statistics to the general record of human evolution; specifically, how the information of the necessarily incomplete human fossil record can be validly used for complex inferences. He specifically is concerned with the evolution of the human brain, the craniofacial skeleton and gender differences in body size.Selected recent publications
- "Biology and Body Size in Human Evolution: Statistical Inference Misapplied", Current anthropology. 37, no. 3, (1996): 451-481
Smith, R.J.
- (with W.L. Jungers) "Body mass in comparative primatology." ' Journal of Human Evolution 32:523-559. (1997)
- (with S.R. Leigh) "Sexual dimorphism in primate neonatal body mass." Journal of Human Evolution 34: 173-201. (1998)
- Statistics of sexual size dimorphism. Journal of Human Evolution 36: 423-458. (1999 )
- (with J.M. Cheverud) "Scaling of sexual dimorphism in body mass: a phylogenetic analysis of Rensch's Rule in primates". International Journal of Primatology 23:1095-1135. (2002)
- " Species recognition in paleoanthropology: implications of small sample sizes." In: Interpreting the Past: Essays on Human, Primate, and Mammal Evolution in Honor of David Pilbeam (DE Lieberman, RJ Smith, and J Kelley, eds.). Boston, Brill Academic Publishers, pp. 207-219. (2005 )
- "Relative size versus controlling for size: interpretation of ratios in research on sexual dimorphism in the human corpus callosum." Current Anthropology 46: 249-273. (2005)