It is with great sadness that CO-LaN has learned that Dave Smith died of cancer at his home in Kennett Square, Pa., on Feb. 9, 2001, just a few days after CO-LaN was founded. Dave has been highly supportive of the CAPE-OPEN standardization initiative at Du Pont, was actively present in such a founding meeting as the one organized by DuPont in Mendenhall during OO-CAPE. And DuPont’s involvement in the CAPE-OPEN project was largely due to Dave.
He majored in chemical engineering from Princeton University in 1956, Following graduation, Dave continued his studies in chemical engineering, was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Sydney, Australia, in 1961, and earned his D. Eng. degree from Yale in 1963. He then was on the faculty of the University of Rochester before joining DuPont, where he specialized in process control, a field in which he made numerous outstanding contributions and for which he received worldwide recognition. He led the Advanced Process Control Group there.
Dave held an appointment as visiting professor at Imperial College in London, He retired from DuPont in 1999.
Dave’s paper on “Needs and New Directions in Computing for the Chemical Process Industries” describes CAPE-OPEN and recognizes that the CAPE-OPEN standard “will facilitate the transfer of technology from universities to industry.”
CO-LaN and CAPE-OPEN lost a friend today.
The W. David Smith, Jr. Graduate Student Paper Award has been established by the CAST Division of AIChE.This Award is given to an individual for outstanding published work in chemical engineering computing and systems technology. The publication shall consist of a single paper based on work done by the individual while pursuing graduate or undergraduate studies. Process Systems Enterprise Ltd is sponsoring the award.