Professor Kirk R. Smith – or as his friends and colleagues affectionately called him, Kirk – passed away quietly, surrounded by family, at his home in Berkeley, California on June 15, 2020. As media outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Times of India will tell you, Kirk was a towering figure in the world of environmental health and, undeniably, the founding father of global household air pollution science and advocacy as it exists today. Kirk was a generous mentor, a selfless colleague, and a dear friend to those who knew him well. He has left this world far better than he entered it, and, in doing so, touched the lives of billions. Read remembrances of Kirk or see comments from family, friends, and colleagues at a celebration of Kirk’s life held on 11 September 2021. .
Professor Smith’s work addressed the relationships among environmental quality, health, resource use, development, and policy in developing countries, with a focus on the health effects of air pollution exposure in developing countries, particularly in women and children from household air pollution due to solid fuel use. With IIT Delhi, Sri Ramachandra University, and TERI, Professor Smith recently launched the Collaborative Clean Air Policy Centre, which explores, evaluates, and compares policy options for dealing with India’s health-damaging air pollution problems of all types, including ambient and household.