| |
| Search |
| Home |
| Front Page Archive |
| Features |
| Obituaries |
| Dining |
| Submit Content |
| Subscribe |
| Publisher's Blog |
| Advertise |
| About The Times |
| Find Photos |
| Business Links |
| Video | MiltonConnection.com |
Preston Wood Smith, Jr. |
Dr. Preston Wood Smith Jr., 86, of North Weymouth, formerly of Cambridge, died Sept. 13 at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. He was for many years a research scientist and consultant specializing in acoustics and vibrations. Dr. Smith was born in Boston in 1923 and educated locally, graduating from The Rivers School (then in Brookline) in 1939 and from Harvard College in 1942 (class of 1943). During World War II, he served in the Pacific theatre of operations as an officer in field artillery, leaving active duty with the grade of captain. He received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1952 and then engaged in post-graduate studies at the Harvard Acoustics Research Laboratory for three years. In 1955, he co-founded the research and consulting partnership Cambridge Acoustical Associates, leaving it in 1959 to join Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., where he spent the remainder of his professional career. At BBN, he was a principal scientist and played a central role in the development of the company’s research divisions for physical sciences and underwater technology. After retirement in 1995, he was an occasional consultant to BBN, but became increasingly involved in genealogy and the development of his family history. Throughout his life, he was an avid small-boat sailor in and around Hingham Bay and Boston Harbor. Dr. Smith’s professional career had been largely devoted to the analysis and mathematical modeling of sound transmission in the ocean, structural vibration in complex structures, and sound radiation and scattering. He was known for his research in those fields, most of which was sponsored by the Navy, NASA, and the Air Force. He is the author of papers published in the professional literature. He was a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and a member of the scientific research society Sigma Xi. In 1996 he was awarded the Trent-Crede Silver Medal of the Acoustical Society of America for his pioneering contributions to the fields of vibration and structural-acoustic interactions. Dr. Smith was an active member of the Church of Our Saviour in Milton, serving on its vestry, as trustee of trust funds, and as treasurer. He also held membership in the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Bates Association, the Milton Historical Society, the South Shore Genealogical Society, and the Rose Cliff Association of North Weymouth. He is survived by his siblings, Col. Kenneth Bates Smith, of Georgia, and Ardis Louise Messinger, of California; his six nieces and nephews, and their children. He was the brother of the late Deborah Diener. A memorial service was held Sept. 18 in the Church of Our Saviour. Burial was private. Donations may be made to the Church of Our Saviour, 11 Babcock St., Milton, MA 02186. Arrangements were by the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home. |
| Return to Obituaries |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||