Diane Kimball Smith

Diane passed away at her home in San Diego due to complications from Scleroderma. She was a sister, aunt, friend, colleague, and professor to so many. She was an advocate for the environment, passionate about advancing science, wanting to make a difference. She lived a fulfilling, joyful life, always up for traveling to new places, loved her family, and cared deeply for those with whom she worked, taught, and mentored.

She was born to Janet Kimball Smith and J. Leonard Smith and raised in Newport Beach, CA. She was studious, inquisitive, active in Girl Scouts, played flute, and developed an interest in painting and the natural environment. She graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1978 and Lewis and Clark College in 1982. During college she had a particularly adventurous semester abroad to Nepal and hiking part of the trail to the base camp of Mt. Everest.

She received a scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There she developed her knowledge, experience, and many friendships in Boston, graduating with her PhD in Chemistry in 1988. That same year she married Gregg Lane, also a PhD in Chemistry. She joined the Postdoctoral program at University of Delaware and in 1990 made her way to San Diego State University.

Diane was the first woman hired into a tenure track position in the Chemistry Department and was an inspiration to women pursuing careers in science throughout her 30 years at SDSU.

She was a dedicated teacher and taught many beginning and advanced chemistry courses. Her enthusiastic instruction and caring guidance touched the lives of numerous students, influencing several to choose to major in chemistry and preparing undergraduate and graduate students alike to pursue careers in academia and industry. She served as the Chair of the Department’s Curriculum Committee for decades, advocating for the university’s educational mission overall, and the master’s in chemistry program in particular.

A few weeks prior to her death, Diane was awarded the Jaroslav Heyrovsky Prize for Molecular Electrochemistry by the International Society of Electrochemistry. She was nominated and selected because of her illustrious career investigating methods to couple electron and proton transfer in reversible organic redox reactions. Her work informed the development of drugs to fight anaerobic microbial infections, among other advancements in the field.

She was ambitious in all aspects of her life. Her personal travels often involved backpacking, kayaking, and/or skiing in the Sierra Mountains, Vermont, Wyoming, France, Switzerland, Nepal, Germany, Eastern Europe, Peru, Costa Rica, Molokai, British Columbia, Washington, Alaska; and rafted the Colorado River many years ago. She loved music and had a large selection of record albums, especially jazz. She lived at the beach and kept some balance with her daily routine of coffee, playing with her cat, and reading the newspaper. For many years, she would do local hikes and ride her bike regularly to and from SDSU.

She is predeceased by her mom and dad, aunt Mimi, and sister Carolyn Cerro. She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Len and Shirley Smith, nieces Lisa (Romain), Jodi (Mark), Sheri, Brook (Harold), nephew Doug (Joan) and several grand nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation in her name to the Sierra Club. Please join a Celebration of Life on November 12, 2022, at 11:00 AM at First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego – Hillcrest, 298 W Arbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92103. SDSU posted the following remembrancehttps://tinyurl.com/ydt52m5e