A renowned and pioneering investigator, an inspirational colleague and collaborator, an admired teacher, and a leader in his field, Edward Smith is one of the most respected cognitive psychologists in the country. For the past 20 years, he has been a leader in the field, helping to redefine it again and again.
A chronological listing of Professor Smith’s research interests is almost tantamount to tracing the mainstream of cognitive psychology. His earliest work focused on mental chronology, then proceeded to the topics of short-term and semantic memory, language understanding, and memory organization. Following these achievements, he began his universally admired work on knowledge representation, and was in the forefront of the “second cognitive revolution.” Professor Smith extended his work on representation to include questions about mental procedures, including induction, reasoning, and probabilistic judgment.
More recently, Edward Smith’s interests carried him into work on what can be called the “third cognitive revolution” — cognitive neuroscience. Simultaneously, he also investigates cultural effects on cognition, working with anthropologists and with other cognitive psychologists.
It would be difficult to name someone in all of psychology with greater depth and breadth than Edward Smith. Beyond the quality and centrality of Professor Smith’s work in the field of cognitive psychology, he plays an extremely important role in mediating between cognitive scientists on the one hand and the rest of psychology—social, clinical, personality, development, and education—on the other. In addition, Edward Smith is one of the few psychologists who is deeply knowledgeable about formal logic and epistemology and can converse with philosophers in terms that they both understand and respect. Highly conversant in psycholinguistics and artificial intelligence, he also is an important contributor to the cognitive aspects of neuroscience.
Professor Smith is also a highly successful teacher, possessing that combination of expertise, analytical ability, communication skills, and flair that is needed to teach graduate and undergraduate students effectively. He also defines the prevailing intellectual atmosphere within the Department of Psychology. His leadership in challenging old notions and forging ahead to new ideas largely determines the quality of scientific debate within his department and within the field of psychology as a whole.
For his achievements as a scholar, his constructive dedication to students and colleagues, and his service to the academic community, we are proud to present Edward Smith with the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award.
