Tamara Floyd Smith, Ph.D., P.E., Vice President for Academic Affairs at WVU Tech, has reached a significant professional milestone and is now a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AlChE).
Less than five percent of members are selected for fellow status, a process that requires 25 years of professional experience in the chemical engineering field and holding senior member status, which is granted after ten years of membership. Members come from both higher education and industry in AlChE.
“It’s the highest grade of membership in a professional society, and it’s a significant career milestone. In higher education, we aim to be promoted to full professor, and no matter the institution, professors want to become a fellow of their professional society. I was promoted to full professor in 2012, so it’s been 14 years. It was the next career milestone for me,” Floyd Smith says.
There is a nomination process to become a fellow. One of Floyd Smith’s colleagues from Brigham Young University nominated her, and her peers’ official vote came within the past month to solidify her fellowship.
“I feel validated, and I’m excited,” she says. “It’s a distinct honor. Decades of hard work, innovation, service and sacrifice are paying dividends. It is another way for me to be a role model for faculty members. That is important to me as an academic administrator.”
Floyd Smith will be recognized at the AlChE national convention later this year.
“We are very proud of Dr. Floyd Smith and her accomplishments,” said WVU Tech President T. Ramon Stuart, Ph.D. “Dr. Floyd Smith is a great asset to our campus and to our students, and we are proud that she has achieved such a prestigious status as she remains dedicated to her field,” says Stuart.
Floyd Smith grew up in Alabama and pursued a degree in chemical engineering at Tuskegee University after a school counselor encouraged her to consider the engineering field. She was the first person in her family to go to college. She then went on to obtain her master’s and doctoral degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in chemical engineering. She came to WVU Tech in 2022 from Tuskegee University, where she served as associate provost and professor of chemical engineering. In addition to her work in higher education, Floyd Smith has been part of the ABET-accrediting body through AlChE for twelve years and does work in research and grant-funded projects.