Bryan Smith

Secondary Science

I grew up in Anchorage.  

As a kid, I remember getting mail addressed to us in Spenard, Alaska, 99503.  We had orange shag carpet, wood paneling, and a dart board we regularly missed.  Haloweens meant hard frosts and costumes in layers. I remember one year moulding Silly Putty into pointed ears for my Mr. Spock costume.  The plastic phaser didn't work, but I'm sure I made sound effects.

My father, who was also born in Anchorage, worked as an electrician and my mother -- who drove the AlCan with friends in a car with Alaska Or Bust written in dust -- worked as nurse and office manager for a local pediatric group.  We spent a lot of time outside: gardening; building snow forts in the winter; digging clams in the spring; fishing for trout, salmon, and burbot in the summer; and hunting ducks and moose in the autumn. 

After high school, I studied chemistry at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and worked doing research during the summers.  My last semester I managed to spend in southern France accumulating general education credits and improving my accent. After graduating with my B.S. during a slow time for our Alaskan economy, I worked a few odd jobs (at Girdwood's Bake Shop and delivering pizzas) before going to graduate school. 

I went to the University of Colorado to get my Ph.D. in chemical engineering and ended up meeting my wife there.  After graduating, I conducted and directed a wide variety of chemical and engineering research at a small company in Colorado for 9 years before moving back to Alaska to raise my family and re-treain to teach secondary science.  I feel privileged to be teaching at Polaris and part of this welcoming learning community. 

The best way to contact me is by email at smith_bryan@asdk12.org