Title: Chief Scientist
Company: Element One
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
Rodney Davis Smith II, PhD, Chief Scientist at Element One, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Scientists for dedication, achievements, and leadership in the Sciences.
Dr. Smith, chief scientist at Element One, is lauded for his expertise as a seasoned analytical chemist and materials scientist. Since joining his organization in 2005, he has been focusing on wide-area hydrogen sensor technology and developing coatings and thin films for visual and electronic detection of hydrogen and other gases. Working remotely for the past two years, Dr. Smith also concentrates on hydrogen blending and natural gas distribution for residential use and developing wireless resistive sensors for hydrogen detection. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Element One serves the industrial gas industry, providing affordable and reliable leak detection solutions.
Among his recent contributions to Element One, Dr. Smith has contributed to phase one of the SBIR program and phase two of the Small Business Innovation Research program. Having initially become involved with his organization while completing his postdoctoral at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, he had the opportunity to work on several projects for a few years before joining the energy company. Since then, most of his research and contributions have taken place there.
With several decades as a researcher and expertise working in various capacities at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, dating back to 1998, Dr. Smith has become lauded for his expertise in multiple areas of the industry, such as thin film deposition, characterization, chemical analysis, indicator pigments and noble metal catalysis, which has been pivotal to his success.
Highly educated, Dr. Smith studied at the Colorado School of Mines, where he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in applied chemistry in 1999. His advanced degree has been pivotal to his continued success.
Besides his work-related commitments, Dr. Smith has been active in local community initiatives. Namely, he volunteers with Animal Friends Alliance, a nonprofit organization in Fort Collins, Colorado, and a pet adoption agency.
One of Dr. Smith’s most notable achievements has been his two decades of consistent work in his field, during which he and his team successfully secured several patents. Unfortunately, most of these patents were abandoned because Element One lacked the resources to maintain them, except for a few. Before his time at Element One, Dr. Smith was involved in numerous patents from the U.S. Department of Energy.
As a seasoned researcher, Dr. Smith has contributed articles to several scholarly publications as a co-author, disseminating his findings. He also contributed a book chapter in the 2007 text “Advances in Hydrogen Energy.”
In light of his hard work in the sciences, Dr. Smith was recognized with an award from the American Welding Society in 2002 for an article he published on his welding steelwork. The accolade early in his career set the tone for his future endeavors. Crediting much of his industry success to his education, Dr. Smith also notes that his experiences at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory also taught him a lot about his field.
As he anticipates the future of his career in this sector, Dr. Smith intends to tackle several important projects, including exploring hydrogen as a potential alternative fuel source. He also envisions helping to develop the hydrogen economy.
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