Named after Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith, the Smith Prize seeks to inspire early-career scholars to emulate Dr. Smith’s joyous zeal for scientific discovery. The Smith Prize is a “budding genius” award that recipients may use flexibly to advance social science in whatever manner they choose.
To many, Vernon L. Smith’s career epitomizes success as a social scientist. That career bespeaks commitment to exploring theoretical foundations in economics, social science, and science generally; quantifiable impacts in transforming economics into an experimental and more empirical discipline; collegiality in funding, mentoring, and collaborating with fellow scholars; and curiosity in looking beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries in search of truth. The Smith Prize hopes to inspire recipients, early in their careers, to set lofty goals for themselves as social-science theorists, practitioners, colleagues, mentors, and truth seekers.
