Richard H. E. Smith II

As a science fiction fan, Smith, with his wife, Leah Zeldes Smith, was 1993 winner of the Down Under Fan Fund[http://fanac.org/fan_funds/dufflist.html DUFF (Down Under Fan Fund) Winners] and delegate to Swancon 18, the Australian National Science Fiction Convention in Perth, Western Australia,[http://www.natcon.org.au/2007/natconlist.htm Australian National Science Fiction Conventions list] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001010811/http://www.natcon.org.au/2007/natconlist.htm |date=October 1, 2009 }} as well as to fan centers throughout the country. He has been selected as fan guest of honor by numerous science fiction conventions, including Windycon (1995),{{Cite web |url=http://www.isfic.org/conspast.asp |title=The Windycon Big List: A Chronological History |access-date=2009-07-23 |archive-date=2009-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801122309/http://www.isfic.org/conspast.asp |url-status=dead }} ArmadilloCon (1995), First Contact (1998), ConQuesT (2000), Whatcon (1985) and Corflu (1991),[http://www.scifiinc.net/scifiinc/gallery/bio/Smith,_Dick.htm Science Fiction Fan Gallery] and has been a toastmaster at such conventions as ConFusion[http://archive.stilyagi.org/past_years.html ConFusion Names, Guests and Chairs Over the Years] and a frequent speaker and panelist on subjects related to fandom, fan publishing, science fiction and technology.

The Smiths' fanzine STET was a three-time Hugo Award nominee.[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/HugoNomList.html The Locus Index to SF Awards: Hugo Nominees List] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920202744/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/HugoNomList.html |date=September 20, 2011 }} In the 1980s, Smith published the Hogu Award-winning title, Uncle Dick's Little Thing.[http://library.temple.edu/scrc/science-fiction-fanzine-4 Temple University Libraries Paskow Science Fiction Collection] He was extensively active in numerous amateur press associations during the 1970s and '80s, including the Fantasy Amateur Press Association and The Cult.; he co-founded Windyapa. The Smiths are currently members of the Milwaukee-based MilwApa. Dick was a recipient of the Peter J. Vorzimer Award.

Smith and his wife organized ditto, a fanzine convention, in 1990 and 2001,[http://fancyclopedia.org/ditto-a-series-of-conventions Fancyclopedia: Ditto Convention] and have worked on many Worldcons and other science fiction conventions, including the 2014 NASFiC[http://detcon1.org/detcon1/contact-us/ Detcon1 Committee List] and the 2015 Sasquan.[http://sasquan.org/committee-list/ Sasquan Committee List]

They were the U.S. agents who spearheaded bidding efforts for Aussiecon Three, and he was appointed Aussiecon's representative to the World Science Fiction Society's Mark Protection Committee.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sflovers.org/users/sflovers/u1/web/Reference/fandom/WSFS/1998/app_a.html |title=The World Science Fiction Society Minutes of the Business Meeting at Bucconeer |access-date=2009-10-10 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070823131951/http://www.sflovers.org/users/sflovers/u1/web/Reference/fandom/WSFS/1998/app_a.html |archive-date=2007-08-23 |url-status=dead }} Smith is a member of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society,[http://www.lasfsinc.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=128 LASFS Members List] the Cincinnati Fantasy Group[http://www.cfg.org/meet_mem.htm#MEMB CFG Members List] and General Technics.

Smith is known within fandom for his interest in and collection of antique printing techniques and devices, such as hectographs, letterpresses, spirit duplicators, mimeographs and obsolete computers.[http://pl524.pairlitesite.com/2001/bios.html Millennium Philcon Program Participant Biographies]

Smith is founder and president of Dick Smith Software, a comprehensive computer consulting and network engineering firm in the Chicago area.[http://www.dicksmithsoftware.com Dick Smith Software website] Prior to that, he developed software for such companies as Northrop Grumman, U.S. Robotics and 3Com.

In his professional work, Smith contributes to science fiction, serving as a consultant to such authors as Frederik Pohl[http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/about/ Pohl, Frederik, The Way the Future Blogs] and Mike Resnick.{{cn|date=February 2020}}

Smith was one of the inventors of a "Method and protocol for connecting data calls using R2 signaling" granted U.S. Patent 6,233,237 in 2001.[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,233,237.PN.&OS=PN/6,233,237&RS=PN/6,233,237 United States Patent and Trademark Office] He contributed to the textbook LAN Times Guide to Telephony (Osborne/McGraw-Hill).[http://www.computeranddata.com/doc/books/SysAdmin/ascii/04.06/zinkann/zinkann.txt Zinkann, Elizabeth, "Books: A User's Report"]{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Smith was born in Milwaukee and reared in West Bend, Wisconsin, the eldest of the three sons of Richard H. E. Smith and Marilyn R. J. Smith.[http://www.gmtoday.com/obits/ozwash/obits/2012/March/01/06.htm Richard Smith Obituary][http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23188&start=60&sid=35c60a5ae0a8c0662d5eb5bc4d3dc434&sp=407609 West Bend Daily News, March 1, 2012] He graduated from the University of Wisconsin.

He has been married to Leah Zeldes Smith since 1985; an incident at their wedding inspired Mike Resnick's novel The Dark Lady.{{Cite web |url=http://novelspot.net/node/1669 |title=Resnick, Mike: Where do you get your Crazy Novel Ideas? |access-date=2010-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823194813/http://novelspot.net/node/1669 |archive-date=2010-08-23 |url-status=dead }}

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Category:American computer programmers

Category:Engineers from Chicago

Category:Businesspeople from Milwaukee

Category:People from West Bend, Wisconsin

Category:American software engineers

Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni

Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)