Ray Fred Smith (20 January 1919,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

– 23 August 1999, Lafayette) was an American agronomist and entomologist whose research focused on biological methods of

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

pest management. He was a chair of the Entomology Department at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

from 1959 to 1973. He was an editor of the ''

Annual Review of Entomology The ''Annual Review of Entomology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes review articles about entomology, the study of insects. First published in 1956 from a collaboration between the Entomological Society of America and Annual Rev ...

'' from 1960 to 1977.

Biography

Smith was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Monterey. He received his BS, MS and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley where he was influenced by E.O. Essig, A.E. Michelbacher, and E.G. Linsley. He joined as a faculty in 1941 at Berkeley and his teaching focused on an ecological approach to insects that examined natural population regulation factors and only sought minimal targeted use of pesticides. He was instrumental in expanding the program to include four subdivisions within the field. During this time, he was also director for the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

for Pest Management and Related Environmental Protection Project with UC/AID, and later, executive director of the Consortium for International Crop Protection. Smith also helped to establish the Panel of Experts on Integrated Pest Control of the

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Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

and the

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. Beginning in 1972, Smith was an associate project director of the Huffaker Project, which coordinated the research of scientists at 18

land-grant universities A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...

regarding integrated pest management for six major crops. It was through this endeavor that Smith met and developed breakthrough techniques of

Integrated Pest Management Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization defines IPM as "the careful consideratio ...

(IPM) with Perry L. Adkisson. By using locally relevant ecological methods to control insects, weeds, and disease, integrated pest management allows farmers to reduce their use of and reliance upon pesticides while increasing profits. Along with Adkisson, Smith was awarded the

World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate No ...

in 1997 for his achievements in implementing IPM both in the United States and in developing countries. He also received the C.W. Woodworth Award for Outstanding Achievements in Entomology of the ESA, an honorary doctorate from College van Dekanen, Wageningen, and a UC Berkeley Citation after his retirement. Smith died on 23 August 1999. He was 80 years old and was survived by his wife Elizabeth, a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ray F. 1919 births 1999 deaths American agronomists Presidents of the Entomological Society of America Annual Reviews (publisher) editors Agriculture and food award winners 20th-century American agronomists