Richard H. E. Smith II is a Chicago, Illinois- and Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based[1] software engineer, computer consultant[2] and a science fiction fanzine publisher.
As a science fiction fan, Smith, with his wife, Leah Zeldes Smith, was 1993 winner of the Down Under Fan Fund[3] and delegate to Swancon 18, the Australian National Science Fiction Convention in Perth, Western Australia,[4] 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),[5] ArmadilloCon (1995), First Contact (1998), ConQuesT (2000), Whatcon (1985) and Corflu (1991),[6] and has been a toastmaster at such conventions as ConFusion[7] 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.[8] In the 1980s, Smith published the Hogu Award-winning title, Uncle Dick's Little Thing.[6][9] He was extensively active in numerous amateur press associations during the 1970s and '80s, including the Fantasy Amateur Press Association and The Cult.;[6] he co-founded Windyapa.[10] The Smiths are currently members of the Milwaukee-based MilwApa. Dick was a recipient of the Peter J. Vorzimer Award.[6]
Smith and his wife organized ditto, a fanzine convention, in 1990 and 2001,[11] and have worked on many Worldcons and other science fiction conventions,[6][10] including the 2014 NASFiC[12] and the 2015 Sasquan.[13]
They were the U.S. agents who spearheaded bidding efforts for Aussiecon Three,[10] and he was appointed Aussiecon's representative to the World Science Fiction Society's Mark Protection Committee.[14] Smith is a member of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society,[15] the Cincinnati Fantasy Group[16] and General Technics.[2]
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.[10]
Smith is founder and president of Dick Smith Software, a comprehensive computer consulting and network engineering firm in the Chicago area.[17] Prior to that, he developed software for such companies as Northrop Grumman, U.S. Robotics and 3Com.[2]
In his professional work, Smith contributes to science fiction, serving as a consultant to such authors as Frederik Pohl[18] and Mike Resnick.[citation needed]
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.[19] He contributed to the textbook LAN Times Guide to Telephony (Osborne/McGraw-Hill).[20]
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.[21][22] He graduated from the University of Wisconsin.[2]
He has been married to Leah Zeldes Smith since 1985; an incident at their wedding inspired Mike Resnick's novel The Dark Lady.[23]
