MICHAEL B. SMITH, PhD, is Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. His research interests focus on developing asymmetric reactions based on manipulating chiral, nonracemic lactams. This work is applied to the development of new synthetic methods and the synthesis of polycyclic alkaloids with antitumor or antiviral activity. Dr. Smith was responsible for developing a new reagent for determining the enantiomeric composition of alcohols and amines bearing a chiral center.