Christopher J. Smart

Christopher J. Smart earned his BA in Chemistry at Vassar College (’83) and then did his masters and PhD work at Yale University. Before joining the Vassar College faculty in 1993, Dr. Smart worked as a Staff Scientist at IBM’s T. J. Watson Research Center. At IBM, he helped develop the technique of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to prepare thin films of metal-containing materials from volatile inorganic and organometallic precursors.

Currently, Mr. Smart and his research students are studying the synthesis of carbon nanotubes using metal catalysts prepared by CVD methods, and the chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. His fullerene work is focused on the giant fullerenes, C70, C76 and C84. Mr. Smart is also interested in enhancing science education for K-12 students.