Dick Smith at February 2020 collation of MilwApa

Richard H. E. Smith II is a

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

- and

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

-based

software engineer Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software applications. It involves applying engineering principles and computer programming expertise to develop ...

, computer consultantDick Smith LinkedIn Public Profile
/ref> and a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

publisher.

Science fiction fandom

As a

science fiction fan Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

, Smith, with his wife, Leah Zeldes Smith, was 1993 winner of the

Down Under Fan Fund The Down Under Fan Fund, also known as DUFF, was created in 1970 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. History DUFF was created by ...

and delegate to Swancon 18, the Australian National Science Fiction Convention in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, as well as to fan centers throughout the country. He has been selected as fan guest of honor by numerous

science fiction conventions Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction subgenre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of ex ...

, including

Windycon Windycon is a science fiction and fantasy literature convention held in Oak Brook, Illinois, on the weekend closest to Veterans Day (United States), Veterans Day. ISFiC, the parent corporation that runs Windycon,Pavlac, RossWhat's an ISFiC ISFiC ...

(1995),

ArmadilloCon ArmadilloCon is a science fiction convention held annually in Austin, Texas, USA, since 1979. As the second longest running science fiction convention in Texas, it is sponsored by the Fandom Association of Central Texas and is known for its empha ...

(1995), First Contact (1998),

ConQuesT Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

(2000), Whatcon (1985) and Corflu (1991),Science Fiction Fan Gallery
/ref> and has been a toastmaster at such conventions as

ConFusion In psychology, confusion is the quality or emotional state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion"

and a frequent speaker and panelist on subjects related to fandom, fan publishing, science fiction and technology. The Smiths' fanzine '' STET'' was a three-time

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

nominee. In the 1980s, Smith published the Hogu Award-winning title, ''Uncle Dick's Little Thing.'' He was extensively active in numerous

amateur press association An amateur press association (APA) is a group of people who produce individual pages or zines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group. They began in the late 19th century. History The first A ...

s during the 1970s and '80s, including the

Fantasy Amateur Press Association The Fantasy Amateur Press Association or FAPA ("FAP-uh") is science fiction fandom's longest-established amateur press association ("apa"). It was founded in 1937 by Donald A. Wollheim, John B. Michel and others to facilitate the circulation of f ...

and The Cult.; he co-founded Windyapa. The Smiths are currently members of the Milwaukee-based MilwApa. Dick was a recipient of the Peter J. Vorzimer Award. Smith and his wife organized ''ditto'', a fanzine convention, in 1990 and 2001, and have worked on many

Worldcon Worldcon, officially the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during Wor ...

s and other science fiction conventions, including the 2014 NASFiC and the 2015 Sasquan. They were the U.S. agents who spearheaded bidding efforts for

Aussiecon Three The 57th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Aussiecon Three, was held on 2–6 September 1999 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia. The convention was chaired by Perry Middlemiss. ...

, and he was appointed Aussiecon's representative to the

World Science Fiction Society Worldcon, officially the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during Wor ...

's Mark Protection Committee. Smith is a member of the

Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc., or LASFS, is a science fiction fandom#Science fiction societies, science fiction and fantasy fan society that meets in the Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles area. The current meeting place can be f ...

, the Cincinnati Fantasy Group and General Technics. Smith is known within fandom for his interest in and collection of antique printing techniques and devices, such as

hectograph The hectograph, gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a printing process that involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame. While the original use of the technol ...

letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...

es,

spirit duplicator A spirit duplicator (also Rexograph and Ditto machine in North America, Banda machine and Fordigraph machine in the U.K. and Australia) is a printing method invented in 1923 by Wilhelm Ritzerfeld, which was used for most of the 20th century. Th ...

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator or stencil machine) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a co ...

s and obsolete computers.Millennium Philcon Program Participant Biographies
/ref>

Personal and professional life

Smith is founder and president of Dick Smith Software, a comprehensive computer consulting and network engineering firm in the Chicago area.Dick Smith Software website
/ref> Prior to that, he developed software for such companies as

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...

, U.S. Robotics and

3Com 3Com Corporation was an American digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney and others. Bill Krause joined as President in 1981. Metcalfe ex ...

. In his professional work, Smith contributes to science fiction, serving as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

to such authors as

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American list of science fiction authors, science-fiction writer, editor, and science fiction fandom, fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first ...

and

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct mag ...

. Smith was one of the inventors of a "Method and protocol for connecting data calls using R2 signaling" granted U.S. Patent 6,233,237 in 2001. He contributed to the textbook ''LAN Times Guide to Telephony'' (Osborne/McGraw-Hill).

Personal life

Smith was born in

and reared in

West Bend, Wisconsin West Bend is a city in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,752. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. History Early history and settlement Northeastern Washi ...

, the eldest of the three sons of Richard H. E. Smith and Marilyn R. J. Smith. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He has been married to Leah Zeldes Smith since 1985; an incident at their wedding inspired

's novel ''

The Dark Lady The Dark Lady is a woman described in Shakespeare's sonnets (sonnets 127–152), and so called because the poems make it clear that she has black wiry hair, and dark, " dun"-coloured skin. The description of the Dark Lady distinguishes itself fr ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Richard H. E., II American computer programmers Engineers from Chicago Businesspeople from Milwaukee People from West Bend, Wisconsin American software engineers University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)