He previously led the Emerging Technology Law Committee of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and served on the U.S. Department of Transportation's Advisory Committee on Automation in Transportation.
Trained as a lawyer and an engineer, Smith advises cities, states, countries, and the United Nations on emerging transport technologies. He co-authored the globally influential levels of driving automation, drafted the leading model law for automated driving in the United States, and taught the first legal courses dedicated to automated driving (in 2012), hyperloops, and flying taxis. His students have developed best practices for regulating scooters, and he is writing about what it means to be a trustworthy company. His publications are available at newlypossible.org.
Before joining the University of South Carolina, Smith led the legal aspects of the automated driving program at Stanford University and worked as a fellow at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Prior to his legal career, Smith worked as a transportation engineer.
