Richard H. Smith, Jr.

Richard H. Smith, Jr.

Department of Chemistry

Department of Chemistry
2 College Hill
McDaniel College
(founded as Western Maryland College in 1867)
Westminster, MD 21157

Phone: (410) 857-2491
FAX: (410) 857-2497
E-mail: rhsmith@mcdaniel.edu

Professor of Chemistry. Ph.D., Virginia; B.S. Washington College

Course Web Pages:

CH2201- Electronic Literature Searching

CHE-2217, 2218 - Organic Chemistry I, II

GS1151- Trees on the Hill: The Science of Wood

Primer on Chemical Warefare

Distinguished Alumni Award, Washington College, 1999

Ira G. Zepp Distinguished Teaching Award, 1998

Maryland Chemist of the Year, 1995

Research Students - Who, When

Research interests:
Studies in the mechanism of action of chemical carcinogens, synthesis of cancer chemotherapeutic agents, development of new anti-AIDS drugs through molecular modeling

Grants:see list below

Selected publications:

• Kroeger Smith, M.; Hose, B.M.*; Hawkins,A.*; Lipchock, J.*; Farnsworth, D.W., Rizzo,R.C.; Tirado-Rives, Arnold, E., Zhang, W., Hughes, S.H., Jorgensen, W.L.; Farnsworth, D. W.; Michejda, C.J.; Smith, R.H., Jr. Molecular modeling calculations of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase nonnucleoside inhibitors: correlation of binding energy with biological activity for novel 2-aryl-substituted benzimidazole analogs, J. Med. Chem., 2003,46, 1940-1947.
• Rizzo, R.C., Blagovic, M.U., Wang, D.-P., Watkins, E.K., Smith, M.B.K.K, Smith, R.H., Jr., Tirado-Rives, J., Jorgensen, W.L. Prediction of Activity for Non-nucleoside Inhibitors with HIV Reverse Transcriptase Based on Monte Carlo Simulations. J. Med. Chem. 2002, 45, 2970-2987.
• Kroeger Smith, M.B., Lamb, M.L., Tirado-Rives, J., Jorgensen, W.L., Michejda, C.J., Ruby, S.K*., Smith, R.H., Jr. Monte Carlo calculations on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase complexed with the nonnucleoside inhibitor 8-Cl TIBO: Contribution of the L100I and Y181C variants to protein stability and biological activity. Prot. Eng. 2000, 13, 413-421.
• R.H. Smith, Jr., W.L. Jorgensen, J. Tirado-Rives, M.L. Lamb, P.A.J. Janssen; C.J. Michejda, M.B. Kroeger Smith. Prediction of Binding Affinities for TIBO Inhibitors of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Using Monte Carlo Simulations in a Linear Response Method. J. Med. Chem., 41, 5272-5286 (1998).
• R.H. Smith, Jr., C.J. Michejda, S.H. Hughes, E. Arnold, P.A.J. Janssen, M.B. Kroeger Smith. Structure and Mechanism of Action of Nonnucleoside Inhibitors of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase: Strategies to Combat Drug Resistance. Theochem, 423, 67-77 (1998).
• B.F. Schmidt, E.J. Snyder, R.M. Carroll*, D.W. Farnsworth, C.J. Michejda,R.H. Smith, Jr. Triazinines: Synthesis and Proteolytic Decomposition of a New Class of Cyclic Triazenes. J. Org. Chem., 62, 8660-8665 (1997).
• M.B. Kroeger Smith, C.J. Michejda, S.H. Hughes, P.L. Boyer, E. Arnold, K. Das, P.A.J. Janssen, K. Andries, R.W. Buckheit, Jr., R.H. Smith, Jr. Molecular Modeling of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Drug-resistant mutant Strains: Implications for the Mechanism of Polymerase Action. Protein Engineering, 10, 1379-1383 (1997).
• K. Das, J. Ding, Y. Hsiou, A.D. Clark, H. Moreels, L. Koymand, R. Pauwels, P.A.J. Janssen, P.L. Boyer, P. Clark, R.H. Smith, Jr., M.B. Kroeger Smith, C.J. Michejda, S.H. Hughes, E. Arnold. Crystal Structures of 8-Cl and 9-Cl TIBO Complexed with Wild-Type HIV-1 RT and 8-Cl TIBO Complexed with the Tyr181Cys HIV-1 RT Drug-Resistant Mutant. J. Mol. Biol., 264, 1085-1100, (1996).
• M. B. Kroeger Koepke, B.F. Schmidt, G. Czerwinski, L.A. Taneyhill*, E.J. Snyder*, C.J. Michejda, R.H. Smith, Jr. Specificity of DNA alkylation by 1,3-dialkyl-3-acyltriazenes depends on the structure of the acyl group: Kinetic and Product Studies. Chem. Res. Toxicology, 9, 466-475, (1996).
  
  * undergraduate student

1995 Maryland Chemist of the Year

from "The Defining Moment" supplement, "Carroll County Times", September 25, 1996.

An outstanding record of teaching and research proved a winning formula for McDaniel College Chemistry Professor Richard H. Smith, Jr. Late in 1995 he was named Maryland Chemist of the Year by the state section of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Established in 1962, the award is presented annually to a member of the Maryland section of ACS in recognition for noteworthy achievement in pure or applied chemistry, chemical engineering, or chemical education.

Dr. Smith joined the faculty of McDaniel in 1973 and has been a visiting scientist at the National Cancer Institute Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center where for the last 15 years, Dr. Smith and his undergraduate student colleagues have performed research. His work on substances that could contribute to the fight against cancer has established his national reputation as an organic chemist and earned him three substantial National Science Foundation grants. Since 1990 he has had sixteen articles published in the most reputable scientific journals; eight of those sixteen listed student authors, six of whom appeared on two or more papers. "Being involved in cutting-edge research means you have perspective not only on where science is going, but you have perspective on what it really means to do research and experience working on problems that you don't know the answers to. You need that perspective not only so that you can teach your students what research is all about, but also so that you can understand what they are going through," says Dr. Smith.

In 1992 Dr. Smith received a $60,000 award from the prestigious Camille and Henry Dreyfus Scholar/Fellow Program and served for two years as a mentor and tutor to a recent Ph.D. in chemical science who joined the WMC faculty to experience teaching and research in an undergraduate setting. This award was one of only eight presented that year to colleges and universities across the country. (His "student", Susan Ensel, now holds a tenure track position in the chemistry department at Hood College in Frederick.)

An additional NSF grant of $68,000 received in 1993 enabled Dr. Smith to establish a state-of-the-art molecular modeling laboratory and enhance students' understanding of the chemical and physical properties of molecules.

A native of Hagerstown, Md., Dr. Smith earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Washingtom College and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Virginia. Among his many awards, he has been singled out three times for a Special Achievement recognition from McDaniel College, and six times he has received the college's Scholarly Publication honor for his published work in science journals.

GRANTS

National Institutes of Health - AREA (1-R15-GM068398-01), 2003-22005 $100,000

DuPont Science and Engineering Educational Aid Grant, 1998 $15,000

National Science Foundation, RUI, 1997-2000 (#CHE-9708166) $168,000
Mono- and bis-Triazene Proteolysis: A Mechanistic Investigation

Janssen Research Foundation, 1996-1997 $16,000
Nonnucleoside Inhibitors of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase

National Science Foundation, ILI, 1993-1995 (#DUE-9351489) $68,000
Molecular Modeling in the Laboratory Environment

National Science Foundation, RUI, 1993-1995 (#CHE-9215925) $129,000
Novel Triazene Cyclizations: The chemistry of haloalkyltriazenes

Camille and Henry Dreyfus Scholar-Fellow Grant, 1993-1995 $60,000
The Preparation and Characterization of 1,3-dialkyltriazenes

National Science Foundation, RUI, 1990-1992 (#CHE-8910890) $120,000
Triazoline Hydrolysis: The chemistry of cyclic triazenes

National Science Foundation, RUI, 1986-1989 (#CHE-8521385) $84,000
3-Substituted-1,3-dialkyltriazenes: Synthesis and Chemistry

William and Flora Hewlett Grant of the Research Corporation, 1986-87 $12,000
Alkylation of DNA by 1,3-Dialkyltriazenes: A new class of biological alkylating agents

Petroleum Research Fund, 1985-87 (#17134-B4) $15,000
Decomposition of Unsymmetrical dialkyltriazenes: Factors controlling alkyldiazonium ion formation