Brian Smith (chemist)

Sir (Eric) Brian Smith (10 October 1933 – 17 May 2023) was an English physical chemist who was Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford, and vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, Wales.^[1]

Smith in 1998

Life and career

Smith graduated at University of Liverpool.^[2]. He married Margaret A Barr in 1957 and later they both travelled to the University of California at Berkeley, where he worked with Joel Henry Hildebrand. He was next a research fellow at the Physical Chemistry Laboratory at Oxford and was a lecturer and a fellow of St Catherine's College from 1960.^[1]

Smith was Master of St Catherine's College (1988–94). In 1993, he was appointed vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, a post he held until his retirement in 2001.

From October 1998, Smith held an administrative role at the Welsh Development Agency, where he assisted in opening up Chinese and Indian commercial markets for Wales. He was awarded a knighthood in 1999 in recognition of his efforts in building university links with industry and commerce. Smith was international ambassador for Cardiff University^[3] and served on the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.^[1]