USGS National Wetlands Research Center: Gregory Smith profile

Gregory J. Smith, Ph.D.

picture of Gregory J. Smith Dr. Gregory Smith currently serves as Center Director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC), Lafayette, Louisiana. The NWRC develops and disseminates scientific information critical for managing and restoring our Nation’s wetlands, coastal habitats, and associated plant and animal communities. Dr. Smith has more than 25 years of ecological research and management experience, with a background in population dynamics and environmental toxicology. He has worked in Federal research, with a non-governmental organization, and in the private sector where he has gained broad international science experience. In 1998, Dr. Smith joined the USGS headquarters office in Reston, Virginia. In 2001-2002, he served on a special assignment as the science advisor to the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining the USGS Headquarters Office, Smith served as the acting Eastern Regional Chief Biologist (1997-1998) and as the Center Director at the USGS Great Lakes Science Center (1996-1997). As the Director of the Great Lakes Science Center, he managed an ecological research program that included fisheries, wetlands, ecosystem processes, and invasive species. From 1989-1996, he was a Laboratory Manager and later Laboratory Director for a private environmental toxicology corporation in Maryland that provided scientific studies on marine and freshwater organisms and terrestrial wildlife species to assess the ecological impacts of chemicals for registration by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Drug Administration.

From 1988-1989, Dr. Smith managed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s analytical chemistry program providing support for research and field investigations involving environmental contaminants. He began his Federal research career at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, following a post-doctoral fellowship with the University of Wisconsin – Madison, also conducted at Patuxent.

Dr. Gregory J. Smith was born in Marquette, Michigan and currently resides in Lafayette, Louisiana, with his wife, Kathy and two children, Jennifer and Andrew.

Press Release - Greg Smith Named New Director, USGS National Wetlands Research Center

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