Temple Smith, Bioinformatics Pioneer

I had the unbelievable privilege of spending my postdoctoral years working for Temple Smith, studying 3D protein structure prediction and multiple protein structure alignment. I can honestly say that those are still some of the best and most rewarding years on my professional life. This is due almost entirely to Temple's amazing brilliance, perspicacity, encouragement, and generous nature. Temple became a professor emeritus at Boston University last Friday, which was celebrated with a remarkable seminar series of talks given by his students, collaborators and colleagues. The depth and breadth of the presentations were remarkable, as were the collection of luminaries, each of which who demonstrated the amazing impact Temple has had on the science of bioinformatics. Equally wonderful was how each of these successful researchers in their own right acknowledged the support and inspiration that they have drawn for their own work from Temple and his original contributions to science.

Mike Waterman shows a slide of he and Temple at Los Alamos, NM
Summer, 1980, in a photo taken by David Lipman

Temple is (rightly) famous for his fractious demeanor, and his willingness to question the status quo of any situation, scientific or otherwise, and for his iconoclastic "cowboy" behavior and dress. This, as was acknowledged by all the speakers, hides an open and giving heart, and a true and deep desire to see those with whom he works succeed. Temple likes nothing more than to "stir the pot" and upset the commonly-held wisdom, something that he still continues to do with remarkable efficacy.

No article or post about Temple would be complete without an anecdote, so I will relate one of my own experiences several years ago. I was a postdoc in Temple's lab, and was being recruited by one of the large East Coast pharmaceutical companies. and I was going to have lunch with their executive recruiter in Boston. We were to meet at the lab, and go from there to lunch. As we were walking out of the offices, we passed the mailbox, where a gentleman in a mustache, serape and cowboy hat was picking up his mail. This person preceded to ask who the "character in the suit" was, and what I was doing with him, and then bustled past before I could make any introductions. As the recruiter and I walked out of the office, he asked me who "that guy" was, and I responded by asking him if he was familiar with the Smith-Waterman equation. My executive friend indicated that he was, and that knowledge of the same was a prerequisite for the job I was being considered for. When I told him that "that guy" was Smith, the look on his face was priceless, and something that I treasure to this day.

It was great talking to Temple on Friday, and getting a chance to catch up with so many of the remarkable people who has has taught and with whom he collaborated with over the years. It is a wonderful legacy, and a fantastic group of friends - we all expressed a hope that Temple become an emeritus professor every year. I certainly owe what I have been able to achieve in my own career to Temple, and am glad to wish him a very happy retirement!