Millennium Magazine_2ndEd

350 MILLENNIUM-SECOND EDITION S ince 1996, Thomas J. Smith has studied how people shape their environments to suit their needs and comfort at the University of Minnesota School of Kinesiology. Dr. Smith’s career has involved conducting research in human factors and ergonomics, with one particular study focusing on the ways in which a neonatal intensive care unit’s transition from an open bay to a private room environment affected perceptions and performance of NICU patient care staff. He also provided research consultation support to the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota in 2008 and 2012. Dr. Smith was greatly inspired by his father, who established the first civilian human factors laboratory in the United States in 1947, and with whom he later co-authored papers. He prepared for his career by earning a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and molecular biology and a PhD in physiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a Master of Science in molecular biology/ biochemistry from the University of California San Diego. From 1980 to 1987, he served as an assistant professor of kinesiology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada and later became supervisor of the human factors research group at the United States Bureau of the Mines Twin Cities Research Center. Dr. Smith served on the Dakota County Extension Committee from 2006 to 2009. As a certified human factors and ergonomics professional, he contributed articles to professional journals and served as a monograph editor for the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society for six years. His work in the field led him to receive grants from the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007. He was featured in the 65th edition of Who’s Who in America. THOMAS J. SMITH EDUCATOR, RESEARCHER Mendota Heights, MN