Prof. Smith joined Georgia Southern University in 2010.

My research interests involve the paleoecology, biogeography, and evolution of Cenozoic mammals. Current research projects include: morphology and stable isotope ecology of American mastodons in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, evolution and dispersal of the ancient whale Basilosaurus in the southeastern coastal plain of North America, and paleoecology and taxonomy of middle Pleistocene elephants from the Western Cape Province, South Africa. I am also interested in sclerochronology, and have applied sclerochronological techniques to teeth of mastodons, sauropod dinosaurs, and mosasaurs (extinct marine reptiles).

I teach a number of introductory and upper-level geology courses at Georgia Southern, including Paleontology, General Historical Geology, Dinosaurs, Extinctions, and Disasters, Environmental Geology Lab, Introduction to Research, and Senior Seminar. I have also given guest lectures in courses such as Evolution and Extinction (Biology) and Biogeography (Geography).