Editing E. E. Smith (section)

===Early chemical career and the beginning of ''Skylark''===
[[File:Amazbuck.jpg|thumb|A scene from the first installment of '' The Skylark of Space'', August 1928]]
After college, Smith was a junior [[chemist]] for the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology|National Bureau of Standards]] in Washington, D.C., developing standards for butter and for oysters,<ref name = "mosk13">Moskowitz p. 13.</ref> while studying food chemistry at George Washington University.<ref name=":0"/>  During World War I, he "wanted to fly a [[Curtiss JN Jenny|Jenny]] biplane, but chemists were too scarce. (Or were Jennies too valuable?)"<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of Tedric, by E. E. SMITH, Ph. D. |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49651/49651-h/49651-h.htm |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref> He ended up being sent to the [[Commission for Relief in Belgium]] headed by Herbert Hoover.<ref name=":0"/> His draft card, partly illegible, seems to show that Smith requested [[Conscription in the United States#World War I|exemption from military service]], based on his wife's dependence and on his contribution to the war effort as a civilian chemist.<ref>Draft card (partly illegible). June 5, 1917. Retrieved from Ancestry.com July 2007.</ref>{{Original research inline|date=January 2023}}

One evening in 1915, the Smiths were visiting a former classmate from the [[University of Idaho]], Dr. Carl Garby (1890–1928)<ref>Proceedings of the American Chemical Society 1928 "Deceased Members"</ref> who had also moved to Washington, D.C. He lived nearby in the Seaton Place Apartments with his wife, [[Lee Hawkins Garby]]. A long discussion about journeys into outer space ensued, and it was suggested that Smith should write down his ideas and speculations as a story about interstellar travel. Although he was interested, Smith believed after some thought that some [[romantic fiction|romantic]] elements would be required and he was uncomfortable with that.

Lee Garby offered to take care of the love interest and the romantic dialogue, and Smith decided to give it a try. The sources of inspirations for the main characters in the novel were themselves; the "Seatons" and "Cranes" were based on the Smiths and Garbys, respectively.<ref>Sanders pp. 8–9, Moskowitz p. 14.</ref> About one third of ''[[The Skylark of Space]]'' was completed by the end of 1916, when Smith and Garby gradually abandoned work on it.

Smith earned his master's degree in chemistry from the [[George Washington University]] in 1917, studying under Dr. [[Charles Edward Munroe|Charles E. Munroe]],<ref name = "sanders1"/><ref name="wt640406"/><ref>"Doughnut Specialist Smith" says that his M.S. degree was from [[Harvard University]] and [[Johns Hopkins University]], which is not consistent with other sources.</ref> whom Smith called "probably the greatest high-explosives man yet to live".<ref name=":0"/> Smith completed his PhD in chemical engineering in 1918, with a food engineering focus.<ref name = "mosk13"/><ref>Sanders, p. 1; Lucchetti, p. 32; Barrett, p. 4, following Sanders.</ref> His dissertation, ''The effect of bleaching with oxides of nitrogen upon the baking quality and commercial value of wheat flour'', was published in 1919.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/29865182 |title=Find in a Library: The effect of bleaching with oxides of nitrogen upon the baking quality and commercial value of wheat flour |access-date=August 12, 2006 |archive-date=March 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301201520/http://worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/29865182 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>''The effect of bleaching with oxides of nitrogen upon the baking quality and commercial value of wheat flour'', PhD thesis, George Washington University, 1919, approximately 100 pp.</ref>

[[File:Amazing stories 193008.jpg|thumb| The serial novel ''Skylark Three'' began as ''[[Amazing Stories]]'' cover story (August 1930)]]
[[File:Amazing stories 193107.jpg|thumb|''Spacehounds of IPC'' was also serialized in ''Amazing Stories''.]]
[[File:Amazing stories 193401.jpg|thumb|''Triplanetary'' was the last of Smith's 1930s novels to be serialized in ''Amazing Stories''; his ''Lensman'' novels were published in ''Astounding Stories''.]]
[[File:Universe science fiction 195403.jpg|thumb|Smith's novelette "Lord Tedric", the cover story in the March 1954 issue of ''[[Universe Science Fiction]]'', was novelized by [[Gordon Eklund]] nearly 25 years later.]]
[[File:Amazing science fiction stories 195903.jpg|thumb|right|Smith's novel ''The Galaxy Primes'' was serialized in ''Amazing Stories'' in 1959.]]
[[File:If 196111.jpg|thumb|right|After [[E. Everett Evans]] died in 1958, Smith completed his unfinished novel, ''Masters of Space''. The novel was serialized in ''[[If (magazine)|If]]''.]]