George E. Smith - BSc

George entered the University of New Zealand in Auckland on a National Junior Scholarship gaining a BSc in physics and maths in 1957. He then worked for one year as the electronics technician and a junior lecturer in the Physics department.

In 1961 George moved to the United States, gaining a job in design for Tektronix Inc. in Portland, Oregon, the world's leading oscilloscope manufacturer. In 1964, George joined Monsanto Chemical, a pioneering group working on digital instruments. That year he designed their first commercial instrument, a 20 MHz counter timer.

In April 1970, with six of his colleagues, George established Litronix Inc., a light emitting diode (LED) company, eventually becoming Vice President of Research and Development. In 1985 he began work with Hewlett Packard, developing the basic optical designs of the high-efficiency, high-powered LED lamps needed for car tail lights. He also designed circuits for bar code scanning wands, and high speed analogue opto-couplers for isolated motor drives. In 1998, George moved into optical design in a subsidiary company of Hewlett Packard called Agilent. The initial product of the company was an Optical computer Mouse with no moving parts.

George continues to specialise in optical design, working past retirement age. When he isn't working, he enjoys classical music and salt water fly fishing with rods of his own design.

George received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2000.