Garon Smith is a Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Montana. He received his B.A. degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1973 and his Ph.D. in Applied Chemistry from the Colorado school of Mines in 1983. He has previously served on the faculties of Colorado School of Mines, Colorado College and SUNY College at Fredonia. At The University of Montana in Missoula since 1991, Dr. Smith taught the first half of the introductory chemistry sequence for applied science majors as well as upper division and graduate courses in analytical and environmental chemistry. He retired from full-time teaching in July 2015.Since 1992, Dr. Smith has been the chemist for the University of Montana’s well-publicized Bee Alert Project. Bee Alert uses honeybees to perform environmental sampling and to “sniff out” buried landmines and hidden explosive caches. Garon’s other research involves environmental applications of analytical chemistry.  He has helped formulate biodiesel from vegetable oil, followed dispersion of pulp mill odors in mountain valleys and investigated the chemical nature of respireable particulates from sources such as forest fires and motor vehicles. Currently, he and his last doctoral student are publishing a series of aqueous equilibrium papers in the Journal of Chemical Education.

In the guise of G. Wiz (short for Garon the Wizard), he continues to perform feats of chemical magic for hundreds of grade school and high school students around the world, including two extensive school visit tours in New Zealand. Dr. Smith has received numerous state and national awards for innovative and outstanding teaching. Garon participates in environmental and health policy formulation at both the county and state levels. He is chairman of the Missoula City-County Board of Health, the Air Pollution Control Board and the Missoula Valley Water Quality District Board; and served as the governor-appointed scientist on the Montana Board of Environmental Review from 1995-2004. Currently, he holds the title of Senior Leadership Fellow with the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, and was a 2016 recipient of their William E. Bennett Award for Distinguished Citizen Science.