Joseph ("Joe") Smartt (born in West Ham, London, on 9 September 1931; died in Hedge End, South Hampshire, on 7 June 2013), was a British geneticist with major contributions to the knowledge of crop evolution, especially of grain legumes.
Smartt then completed a degree in botany from Durham University, graduating in 1952.
[4] He subsequently studied at Cambridge University (Christ's College) for a diploma in agricultural science.
[5] Afterwards, he went to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), where he worked on groundnuts.
He completed his PhD in the Department of Genetics at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in 1965.
He worked in plant breeding programs in Africa.
After returning to England, he was employed by the Department of Botany of Southampton University from 1967 to 1996.
Initially, he was a Lecturer in Genetics, while achieving the status of Reader in Biology in 1990.
[6] Southampton University honoured Smartt by awarding him a Doctor of Science (DSc) in 1989 for his work on the genetics and evolution of crop plants.
[7] Smartt authored two books on grain legumes, edited a major volume on groundnuts, and was invited to co-edit a second edition of the important Evolution of Crop Plants with the late Professor Norman Simmonds.
Goldfish Varieties and Genetics: Handbook for Breeders.
Grain legumes: evolution and genetic resources.
PhD thesis, North Carolina State University.
Mimicry of lentil and the domestication of common vetch and grass pea.
Further evidence on the origin of the cultivated winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.
(Fabaceae): Chromosome numbers and the presence of a host-specific fungus.
Old and New World pulses of lesser economic importance.
Evolution of grain legumes I. Mediterranean pulses.
Some observations on the origin and evolution of the winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus).