Jerry received his AA degree in 1951 from Bakersfield Junior College, his bachelor's degree in 1953 and M.S. degree in chemistry in 1956 from the College of the Pacific, and his Ph.D. degree in 1959 from University of Arkansas. Then he worked two years first as a Research Associate and then an Instructor of Chemistry at Northwestern University. In 1961 he joined the faculty of Illinois Institute of Technology as Assistant Professor. In 1966 he moved to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale as Associate Professor, where he was granted full professorship in 1973. From 1978 to 1996 he also served as Director of the Molecular Science Ph. D. Program at SIUC. In August 2000 he became Department Chair.
Jerry is a recipient of numerous research honors and awards including the Phillips Petroleum Research Fellowship (1957-1958), IIT Faculty Research Fellowship (1965-1966), Sigma Xi Kaplan Research Award (1992), Outstanding Researcher, College of Science (1990), and numerous agency (NIH, NSF, PRF, ARO, DOE) and company research grants. Professor Smith has rendered professional service in his research field. He served as Chairman of the Gordon Research Conference on Catalysis (1978); served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Catalysis (1976-1983); was one of the founders of the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society, served as its Chairman (1976-1978), as a Director (1974-1988, 1989-1994) and Chaired its biennial meeting (1976); served as a Director of the North American Catalysis Society (1976-1989) and as its Treasurer (1977-1989); served as President of the SIUC Chapter of Sigma Xi (1993-1994); served as Director (1991-1994) and Treasurer (1994-1996) of the Illinois State Academy of Science; and has held offices in the local section of the American Chemical Society as Treasurer (1982-1983, 1993-1994) and Chairman (1989). He has served on a number of departmental and university committees. In 1996 he received the 1995 Paul N. Rylander award from the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society for Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Catalysis in Organic Reactions, and a Doctor Honoris Causa degree from the József Attila University, Szeged, Hungary. In 1998 he received the Henry J. Albert Medal from the International Precious Metals Institute in recognition of his outstanding theoretical and experimental contributions in the field of Precious Metals.
Apart from university service, Jerry has been a Technical Consultant to insurance adjusters, attorneys, and industry in Southern Illinois, taught chemistry classes at local a high school, and is an elder at the Church of Christ.