Few retirees have the honor of hearing themselves described as an “icon” in their field. One of the most deserving is Virginia Tech’s C.W. “Bill” Smith whose name is synonymous with its Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM).



In Mr. Smith’s field of research, fracture mechanics, his work is known worldwide as are his contributions to the discipline of photoelasticity. In recognition of his accomplishments, he has received numerous honors including the 1983 M.M. Frocht Award, the 1993 William M. Murray Medal, and the 1995 B.J. Lazan Award, all from the Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM).



Mr. Smith became one of the first of the engineering faculty to transition from a strictly teaching role to assuming a teaching and research responsibility in the college. He was one of Virginia Tech’s investigators on the 1969 Themis grant, the landmark Department of Defense program that catapulted the university into its current international stature in composite and advanced materials. In 1977 the university recognized Mr. Smith for his many achievements, presenting him with its Alumni Award for Excellence in Research. That same year, the SEM made him a Fellow. In 1986 he received NASA’s Langley Research Center Scientific Achievement Award. Other honors followed including election to Fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics in 1991 and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1996. He became an honorary member of SEM in 2002.



In 1992, Mr. Smith retired but retained his status as an Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He remained a regular at the office for many years, and kept his research laboratory until recently. With his lab now closed, his trips to campus are less frequent.



He directed some 50 graduate-level students, helped establish a foreign exchange program with Moscow State University, authored or co-authored more than 150 technical papers, wrote five book chapters, served as an editor for such publications as Fracture Mechanics and the Journal of Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, and received notable listings in American Men in Science, Who’s Who in Engineering, and Who’s Who in Frontiers of Science and Technology.



Widowed, Mr. Smith has a daughter, Terry Kelley who resides with her husband, Larry, and their two daughters in Harrisonburg, Va. His son David lives in Christiansburg with his wife Connie, a daughter and one grandson.