Chris Smith is an associate professor of biology at

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, United States. In 2013 he received a grant for his work studying the relationship between yucca moths and yucca trees.

Background

In 2013, Smith received a

National Science Foundation CAREER award The National Science Foundation CAREER award is the most prestigious award presented by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States Federal Government to support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through rese ...

of $850,000 for his work studying the co-evolution of yucca trees and their pollinators, yucca moths. He had the distinction of being the university's first faculty member to receive a CAREER award. With Emily Drew, Smith also teaches the interdisciplinary course "Race, Racism, and Human Genetics", which examines how scientific endeavors had been affected by racial outlooks. The course originated from a discussion Smith and Drew had on the topic in 2012.

Study of yucca and joshua trees

Smith has studied the northward migration of yucca and joshua trees, and the possible hybridization of the Eastern and Western varieties, either of which may be related to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

Challenging views on race

Smith is an advocate for the dismantling of racist pseudoscientific beliefs. On October 8, 2012, he and fellow Willamette associate professor Emily Drew, an anti-racism workshop facilitator, led a discussion on the misrepresentation of race and racial differences, presented at the Bagdad Theater and Pub in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

.''Portland Mercury'
''Modern Science and the Legacy of Scientific Racism'' When: Mon., Oct. 8, 7 p.m. 2012
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References

External links

Publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chris Living people Willamette University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American biologists