Merritt Roe Smith

Professor Merritt Roe Smith is the Leverett Howell Cutten and William King Cutten Professor of the History of Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research centers on the history of American manufacturing and industrialization. He has written extensively on the national armory system and the role of the military in technological innovation. He also has published on the theme of technological determinism in history as well as more general works on the role of technology in American history. His current work focuses on management and technological change during the American Civil War. His book, Harpers Ferry Armory and the New Technology, received recognitions such as the Frederick Jackson Turner Award, Pfizer Award, AASLH Certificate of Commendation, and was nominated for the 1977 Pulitzer Prize. Some other notable awards include the Leonardo Da Vinci Medal from the Society for the History of Technology (which he was former President of), Arthur C. Smith Award and Levitan Teaching Award from M.I.T. and the Outstanding Liberal Arts Alumni Award from Penn State University.