Gerald W. Smith (December 1, 1929 – August 5, 2017) was the American author of "Engineering Economy: Analysis of Capital Expenditures" (Iowa State Press) the textbook used by several generations of Industrial Engineering college students from around the world.
While writing his book, Smith worked in his home office next to a window overlooking the house next door where Iowa State University professor John Vincent Atanasoff had lived while building the world's first electronic digital computer from 1937 to 1942.
In 1964 he was Iowa State's representative at the General Electric Professors conference; from 1968 to 1971 he was designated Iowa State's Alcoa Professor; in 1969 he was the recipient of the Eugene L. Grant Award for best paper in The Engineering Economist from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
He and his graduate students contributed gratis their efforts in the annual publication Engineering Economy Abstracts, which he originated.
He lived in Ames, Iowa until his death and is survived by his wife Phyllis and his son, photographer Brian Smith of Miami Beach, Florida.