Smith, Wayne

Professor Emeritus & Former Director, Forest Soils & Ecology

Wayne H. Smith joined the School in 1964 and served as its fifth Director from May 5, 1995 through June 30, 2003. Before this he served as Director of the University of Florida’s Center for Biomass Programs and Energy Extension Service in IFAS. He has also directed the UF/IFAS Center for Environmental and Natural Resources Programs and was Assistant Director for SFRC from 1974-78. He worked as a forest biologist with the USDA Cooperative State Research Service and as federal agency liaison for IFAS on two faculty leaves from the university. His research programs have targeted forest soils, nutrition and bigeochemical cycling, biomass energy, and organics composting and utilization. He was Editor of the journal Biomass and Bioenergy Editor of Biomass and Bioenergy until 1999; chair, Florida Division Society America Foresters (2003); and chair Southeastern Society of American Foresters in 2007. He was named a Fellow and Golden Member of the Society of American Foresters and inducted into the Florida Division Hall of Fame.

His main engagement with the FFGS is through its FRC Program Advisory Committee and School Advisory Board and fund raising mainly in support of enhancements at the Austin Cary Forest Campus.