Hamilton O. Smith (1931- )

Awarded the Prize “for the discovery of restriction enzymes their application to problems of molecular genetics.”

American microbiologist. Smith was born on August 23, 1931 in New York City. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1952 received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1956. In 1962 he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan. In 1967 he returned to Johns Hopkins University, becoming a professor of microbiology in 1973.