Michael P. Smith currently serves as founder and director of the Florida Center for Prevention Research within the Florida State University Institute of Science and Public Affairs. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Col. Smith received his Master of Arts in Business Management from Central Michigan University and Master of Public Administration from George Washington University.

His distinguished career reflects commitment to public service, both in the military and academia. He has over 15 years of experience in executive management, with extensive experience in consensus decision-making, strategic planning, project management, organizational development, corporate communications and global affairs.

While serving as a commissioned officer in the Air Force, Col. Smith advised the Defense Science Board during Operation Desert Storm and authored a white paper to establish an urban research center to focus national attention on development of city and state infrastructure. He further chaired and directed a 16-nation committee to develop a large-scale command and control system used by military combat pilots throughout the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He also managed a $2 billion budget in 19 advanced technology programs within the Department of Defense.

In his present capacity as Director of the Florida Center for Prevention Research, he has been especially active in bringing together diverse groups of federal, state, and local stakeholders to address emerging issues affecting the State of Florida. He led Florida State University's participation in the Statewide Assessment of Florida Seaports in 2000, served as principal investigator on the 2003 Florida Aviation and Aerospace Assessment, and serves as principal investigator developing statewide and regional hospital response plans for major casualty incidents resulting from weapons of mass destruction under contract to the Florida Department of Health.

Florida State University Institute of Science and Public Affairs

The Institute of Science and Public Affairs matches university resources and expertise toward the solution of public and private problems. Specialists in the fields of public administration, biology, chemistry, geography, land use planning, physics, economics, law and other areas carry out the public service responsibilities of the university through programs in education, training, and applied research.