In 2011, American Heritage Dictionary admitted his decapitalized surname, smoot, meaning a distance of 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m), as one of the 10,000 new words added to their fifth edition. The term is named for Smoot from his undergraduate days when he was used as a unit of measurement on the Harvard Bridge at MIT during a fraternity pledge activity.[4][5]
From 2000–2005, he served as vice president for external voluntary standards relations of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI). Prior to that, he was ITI's executive vice president for 23 years.[6]
Smoot gave a speech to a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology on March 20, 2000, titled "The Role of Technical Standards in Today's Society and in the Future".
He returned to MIT on October 4, 2008, for a 50th anniversary celebration,[7] including the installation of a plaque on the bridge. Smoot was also presented with an official unit of measurement: a smoot stick.[8] On May 7, 2016, he served as the grand marshal of the parade marking the centenary of MIT's moving from Boston's Back Bay into Cambridge.[9][10]
Personal life
Smoot lives in San Diego with his spouse Sandra Smoot. He is also a representative of the MIT Education Council. He has a son and daughter, both of whom also attended MIT.[11]
Curran, Susan (December 19, 2005). "A Salute to Smoot". Salute. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Smoot makes his mark in standards and measurements