Matt Smith

Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Sciences and Emeritus Director
Water Resources Program Team, Agricultural and Environmental Science Department, Agricultural Sciences Department, Experiment Station, PeeDee Research and Education Center

Office: Florence, SC
Phone:

Email: MCS5@clemson.edu

Educational Background

Ph.D. Agricultural Engineering
University of Florida 1988

M.S. Biological and Agricultural Engineering
North Carolina State University 1983

A.S. Agricultural Engineering
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College 1977

B.S.A.E. Agricultural Engineering
University of Georgia 1980

Courses Taught

Courses taught at the University of Georgia:
Water Management
The Hydrology, Geology, and Soils of Georgia
Environmental Engineering Unit Operations
Design of Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems
Environmental Water Quality
Modeling Water Quality for Nonpoint Sources

Profile

Dr. Matt C. Smith was the Director of Clemson University's Pee Dee Research & Education Center in Florence, SC until his retirement in June 2023. He assumed that role in October of 2013. Prior to coming to Clemson he was a National Program Leader (NPL) for Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Office of National Programs (ONP). He served as the lead NPL for ARS research in beneficial use of agricultural and industrial byproducts and sustainable agricultural systems as well as being the agency’s point of contact for organic production, sustainability, and local food systems. He joined ARS in 2004 as Research Leader of the Environmental Management and Byproduct Utilization Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland where he oversaw a federal research laboratory with 12 Ph.D. research scientists and a budget exceeding $6 million. From 1987 to 2004, he was on the faculty of the University of Georgia's Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department.

Research Interests

Dr. Smith's positions as Director at Clemson University and as ARS National Program Leader at the USDA are/were research management. Dr. Smith's research program at the USDA-ARS was focused on the conversion of manure to energy either directly through processes such as anaerobic digestion and thermochemical conversion or indirectly through the sustainable production of biomass crops utilizing manure nutrients. Dr. Smith's research program while at UGA can be broadly described as the study of anthropogenic impacts on water resources: quality and quantity.

Extension and Outreach

Co-Coordinator SC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, 2020-present

Publications

Kleinman, P., Saacke Blunk, K., Bryant, R.B., Saporito, L.S., Beegle, D., Czymmek, K., Ketterings, Q., Sims, T., Shortle, J., Mcgrath, J., Coale, F., Dubin, M., Dostie, D., Maguire, R., Meinen, R., Allen, A., O'Neill, K., Garber, L., Davis, M., Clark, B., Sellner, K., Smith, M.C. 2012. Managing manure for sustainable livestock production in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 67:54A-61A. DOI: 10.2489/jswc.67.2.54A.

Cantrell, K.B., Ro, K.S., Szogi, A.A., Vanotti, M.B., Smith, M.C., Hunt, P.G. 2012. Green farming systems for the Southeast USA using manure-to-energy conversion platforms. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. DOI:10.1063/1.3663846.

H.K. Ahn, M.S. Huda, M.C. Smith, W. Mulbry, W.F. Schmidt, J.B. Reeves III. 2011. Biodegradability of injection molded bioplastic pots containing polylactic acid and poultry feather fiber, Bioresource Technology, Volume 102, Issue 7, April 2011, Pgs 4930-4933.

Smith, M. C., H. Ahn, and J. W. White. 2009. Evaluation of Biogas Produced by Dry Anaerobic Digestion of Switchgrass-Animal Manure Mixtures. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology (160)4: Page 965-975.

Smith, M. C., J. W. White, and F. J. Coale. 2009. Evaluation of Phosphorus Source Coefficients as Predictors of Runoff Phosphorus Concentrations. Journal of Environmental Quality 38(Mar-Apr):587-597.

Utley, B. C., G. Vellidis, R. Lowrance, and M. C. Smith. 2008. Factors Affecting Sediment Oxygen Demand Dynamics in Blackwater Streams of Georgia's Coastal Plain. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 44(3):742-753.