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Lieu R. Smith graduated from OSU in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering. After serving two years on active duty with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he returned to OSU and earned a master’s degree in civil engineering in 1957.
Starting in the early 1960s with the design of the large rocket test facilities at Stennis Space Center for the Saturn V Program, Smith spent most of his engineering career with Sverdrup Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri where he rose to the rank of corporate vice president of advanced technology.
Sverdrup afforded Smith the opportunity to work on many challenging projects including a liquid and solid rocket engine test for the space shuttle. His work on the space shuttle won several awards and was featured in Time magazine in 1984 where the project was described as the “most sophisticated military complex ever built.”
For his work as the program manager on the Space Shuttle Launch Pad Complex, Smith was awarded the Congressional Science and Technology Award for pioneering work in aerospace technology and engineering. He was also selected by Science Digest as one of America’s outstanding innovators in 1985.
Smith retired in 1993 to devote his time to work for his church where he is an ordained minister. After his retirement from the church in 2003, he continued to serve as a hospital chaplain and on a number of committees and boards at the Mercy Hospital in Berryville, Arkansas.
Smith has been honored many times throughout his life. He was recognized by the Arkansas Community Foundation of Carroll County with the 2019 Volunteer of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in developing the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank to serve those in his community.
In 2022, Smith was inducted into the OSU Engineering Hall of Fame and awarded the Lohmann Medal. He was also presented with the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award by the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.
Today, Smith resides in Shell Knob, Missouri where he continues to dedicate his time to Loaves and Fishes Food Bank.
Smith is a life plus member of the OSU Alumni Association.