Dr. Smyth received a B.S. in chemistry "with highest distinction" from the University of Maine in 1951. He went on to receive his Ph.D in inorganic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954. For the next 17 years, he worked for Sprague Electric Co., returning to academic life at Lehigh University in 1971 as the Director of the Materials Research Center and with joint appointments in Materials Science and Engineering and in Chemistry. He remained director of the MRC until 1992.

Smyth has been the recipient of many awards for his work, including the Research Award, Battery Div. of the Electrochemical Society (1959), Edward C. Henry Award, Electronics Div. of the American Ceramic Society, for the Best Paper on Electronic Ceramics in the Journal for the Preceding 10 Years (1987), the Libsch Research Award at Lehigh University (1990), the Kraner Award, Lehigh Valley Section of the American Ceramic Society (1990), and, for a second time, the Edward C. Henry Award, Electronics Div. of the American Ceramic Society, for the Best Paper on Electronic Ceramics in the Journal for the Preceding 3 Years (1995). He is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, and a Life Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists.

The Center for Dielectric Studies presented Dr. Smyth with the Wilhelm R. Buessem Award at the CDS Awards Dinner on March 23, 1992.