September 2009

In Memoriam

Dr. Otto J. M. Smith (91) died 10 May 2009. A professor emeritus in the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at University of California, Berkeley, and an active inventor working in the field of energy production and efficiency, Smith was deeply concerned about global warming and devoted to developing technologies and working for policies that would help save the world from man-made disaster.

Smith was an educator, inventor, and author in the fields of engineering and electronics, best known for the invention of the Smith predictor, a method of handling dead time in feedback control systems. An early patent granted in 1956 was for a signal generator circuit, which Hewlett Packard bought in 1951 and was in general use long after the expiration of the patent. Since 1976, all of his patents have been for devices to generate or conserve energy, including designs for solar electric power plants, wind generators, and high efficiency motors. He was granted at least 30 U.S. patents as well as foreign patents. At the time of his death, he was pursuing two more patents.

Smith did graduate work and received his doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Some awards include: Guggenheim Fellow, InTech’s 50 most influential, Fellow IEEE, and Fellow AAAS.