He spent later parts of his education looking into the importance of geographical research, which was not offered as a main course of study at the time in schools.

[3] After graduating, Smith was given an instructor position at the Wharton School and this resulted in him having to develop his own textbooks for the courses he taught, leading to many of his literary releases on a variety of industries.

[5] During that same year, Smith removed himself from direct academic research so he could work on his upcoming book, Influence of the Great War Upon Shipping, as requested and funded by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He also took a trip to Russia alongside Herbert Hoover in order to assist the American Relief Administration in their efforts to manage and combat the Russian famine of 1921–22.

So he focused his book on the idea of tree breeding and the development of genetically superior cultivars that could be grown in poor, often mountainous, soils so as to improve them.

[8] Smith discussed his research on general agricultural improvement at the seventeenth international congress of the International Geographical Union in 1952 and presented hypothetical ideas on future technologies, including methods for removing the salt from ocean water and using solar power to help in the irrigation of deserts and arid lands by pumping river water from mountainous regions.

During his later years from the 1930s onward, his involvement in research and university leadership diminished due to him taking time to care for his wife and her worsening disabilities until her death in 1962.