Dr. Hobart M. Smith, professor emeritus of biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, received the 2001 W. F. Blair Eminent Naturalist Award from the Southwestern Association of Naturalists at the association's annual meeting in Fort Hays, Kansas, in April.
The association presents the Blair Award in recognition of excellence in a lifetime of commitment to outstanding study or conservation of the flora or fauna of the Southwest.
The Southwestern Association of Naturalists is an association of biologists, founded in 1953, that promotes the study of plants and animals in the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America.
The dedication of Dr. Smith to these scholarly pursuits is illustrated by his contributions to the study of herpetiles of the region. Dr. Smith is held in high regard by colleagues and former students both for his scholarly work on the herpetofauna of the Southwest and for his efforts at increasing public understanding of these ecological systems.
Dr. Smith, 89, received his Ph.D. in 1936 from the University of Kansas. Since then his professional experience has included time as a National Research Council Fellow and faculty positions at the University of Rochester, the University of Kansas, Texas A&M University, the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and finally as a professor of environmental, population and organismic biology and curator at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Dr. Smith has worked extensively on the herpetofauna of the Southwest, especially Mexico, where his work was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. His books and articles on the fauna of this region are still among the very best references available.
One of Dr. Smith's especially important contributions is the fact that he has supervised the research of 39 graduate students. His knowledge of the herpetofauna of the Southwest is encyclopedic and he has passed on his love for these animals to many students who are now successful scientists and mentors themselves.
In the course of his work Dr. Smith has published more than 1,400 articles with over 200 coauthors, mostly students, and he has described nearly 300 taxa, most of which are still recognized as distinct. Further, his productivity did not end after he retired from the University of Colorado but continues.
Dr. Smith's efforts clearly are fundamental contributions to our knowledge of the natural history of the Southwest, and the Southwestern Association of Naturalists is pleased to recognize him with the W. F. Blair Eminent Naturalist Award for more than 60 years of exemplary work as a true naturalist.