Rob Smith was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in 1945. He attended NYC grammar and high school and attended College in Syracuse, NY attaining dual bachelor’s degrees and a Master of Science while being President of the Graduate Students and editor of the Graduate Newsletter. Following graduation, he worked in a myriad of capacities: Fleet Service Clerk for an Airline, Technical Specialist for a University, Microbiologist for a Brewery, Renal Lab Director at a Medical University, Senior Scientist for a Pharmaceutical Company specializing in Pediatric Vaccines and lastly as a University Instructor.

Almost all these positions require using a microscope of some sort, favoring electron microscopes. He has 20 publications in peer reviewed journals resulting in hundreds of citations, ranging in subjects from cellulose to vaccines, gave hundreds of college lectures, mentored many graduate students and received grants totaling over one million dollars. He has logged thousands of motorcycle miles mostly on fishing excursions. As a retiree now, he writes about his childhood, and he lives on a river in upstate New York with his wife JoAnn of 50 years. They have three sons and 5 grandchildren.