Established in 2007 by a generous gift from Mr. Stan and Mrs. Paula Warmath, long-time friends and associates of Dr. James C. Smith, the annual lecture features an invited internationally renowned speaker who is conducting behaviorally oriented research on scientific problems in neuroscience. The Warmaths’ gift, along with continued investment in the lecture series by Dr. Smith’s friends, former students, and colleagues, as well as support from the Department of Psychology and the Program in Neuroscience, provides the opportunity for FSU faculty and students to interact with these distinguished scholars during their visits to campus.
The lecture organizers thank these individuals for their legacy of support. If you'd like to make a gift to the James C. Smith Lecture Series, visit spark.fsu.edu.
Platinum ($25,000 and up)
Rich Budell
Tom and Eleanor Chalmers
Liz Smith
Alan and Mary Jo Spector
Stan and Paula Warmath
Gold ($5,000-$24,999)
Scott Herness
Rick and Linda Hyson
Frank Johnson
Joy Hermanowski-Smith
Dennis and Elli Passe
Tommy Warren and Kathleen Villacorta
Anonymous (1)
Silver ($1,000-$4,999)
Robert Contreras and Ellen Berler
Marilyn Carroll and Peter Santi
Ross and Susie Henderson
Jean Hendricks
Myles and Glee Hollander
Janet Kistner and George Weaver
Marilyn McGhee
Mary Ann and Duncan Moore
Ralph and Jill Norgren
Ann Robbins
Tony and Joan Sclafani
Jeffrey and Laura Shaughnessy
Gerry and Barbara Smith
Linda Bartoshuk and Charles Sommerfield*
Henry and Mur Taylor
Susan and Joe Travers
Anonymous (1)
Bronze ($1-$999)
John Akin
Kent Berridge
Tom Chaddock
Shawn Dotson
Jim Gibbs
Connie and Justin Grobe
Kathleen Harper
Ruth Harris
Karl and Mackie Hempel
William Hill
Tom and Jennifer Houpt
William Jenkins
Kim Jones
Mohamed Kabbaj
Barry Levin
Allen and Nancy Levine
Nu-Chu Liang
Julie Mennella
Dana Merryday
Charlotte Mistretta and Robert Bradley
Brooks and Alemena Pettit
Jorge and Betty Piekarewicz
Michael and Carol Rashotte
Rick Samson
Steve and Carolyn Shackelford
Julianne and Stephen Shannon
Cheryl Sisk
Edward and Myriam Stricker
Kellie Tomashiro
Kurt Thaw
Zuoxin and Xixi Wang
Ruth Williams
Patricia and Ben Willis
Jeff Zigman
Anonymous (2)
*The honor roll is updated each year in March.
Past and Present Smith Lecture Speakers
March 21, 2025
Patricia Sue Grigson, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
March 8, 2024
Mitch Roitman, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Chicago
- The Mesolimbic Dopamine System: Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice?
- View pictures from this event
- Download Event Program
March 3, 2023
Susan P. Travers, Ph.D.
Professor, Division of Biosciences, College of Dentistry, Ohio State University
- Putting the Brakes on Taste: GABA Inhibition in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract
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- Download Event Program
March 6, 2020
Richard D. Mattes, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Nutrition Science and Head of the Department for Public Health, College of Health and Human Sciences at Purdue University
- Individual and Group Efficacy of Low Calorie Sweeteners: What's the Evidence?
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March 15, 2019
Linda M. Bartoshuk, Ph.D.
Bushnell Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida and Member, U.S. National Academy of Sciences
- The Concept of Flavor and How Specific Odorants Can Enhance Sweetness
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- Download Event Program
March 9, 2018
Timothy H. Moran, Ph.D.
Paul R. McHugh Professor of Motivated Behaviors, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
- Gastrointestinal Feedback and the Control of Meals
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- Download Event Program
March 3, 2017
John G. Hildebrand, Ph.D.
Foreign Secretary, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Regents Professor, Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona
- Learning from Insect Brains: How Insects Smell and Why We Should Care
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March 4, 2016
Alan C. Spector, Ph.D.
Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University
- The Neural Basis of Salt Taste: The Interpretive Power of Animal Psychophysics
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- Download Event Program
January 30, 2015
Linda Rinaman, Ph.D.
Professor of Neuroscience and Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
- Interoceptive Modulation of Behavioral Responses to Stress: Neural Pathways and Physiological Integration
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February 29, 2014
Ralph Norgren, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
- The Search for Sweet
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March 1, 2013
Anthony Sclafani, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
- Gut-Brain Nutrient Signaling: Appetition vs. Satiation
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March 30, 2012
Harvey J. Grill, Ph.D.
Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania
- Hindbrain Neurons: An Essential Hub in the Neuroanatomically Distributed Control of Feeding Behavior
February 25, 2011
Marilyn Carroll, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota
- Avidity for Food, Sweets, Exercise, Novelty: How It Relates to Drug Abuse
March 19, 2010
Gerard P Smith, M.D.
Professor Emeritus of Behavioral Neuroscience in Psychiatry at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University
- Orosensory Controls of Eating, Meal Size, and Diet-Induced Obesity
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October 17, 2008
Stephen C. Woods, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Obesity Research Center at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
- The Control of Food Intake: Behavioral vs. Molecular Perspectives
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About James C. Smith, Ph. D.
After he earned his Ph.D. from Florida State University in 1959, Dr. Smith joined the faculty, and since that time has received every award that the university has to offer. In 1992 Smith was named a Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, the highest award bestowed upon a faculty member by the University. Smith was also the recipient of the University Distinguished Teacher Award based on a lifetime of teaching excellence, and in 2005 the College of Arts and Sciences honored Dr. Smith as their Graduate of Distinction. Dr. Smith has also received international recognition for his scientific achievements including The Distinguished Career Award from the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, a National Sigma Xi Lectureship, and the Mozell Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Chemical Senses from the Association for Chemoreception Sciences. After 52 years on the Department of Psychology faculty, Dr. Smith retired but still remains active in research at FSU as Professor Emeritus.