Douglas Smith obtained a B.A. in Chemistry from Wittenberg University in 1988 and a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from Purdue University in 1994. He was a Dreyfus post-doctoral fellow and a visiting Assistant Professor at Eastern Illinois University from 1993 to 1995. He has been at CSUSB since 1995.

Dr. Smith's research interests lie in the areas of asymmetric synthesis, heterocyclic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and natural product isolation.