He received his B.A. from the University of Minnesota Deluth, his M.A. from the University of California, and his Ph.D. in Logic and Philosophy of Science from the University of California, Irvine. Professor Smead's research is currently focused on idealization and explanation in science as well as on the evolutionary connections between learning, language and social interaction. Some of Professor Smead's recent publications include: “An Evolutionary Paradox for Pro-Social Behavior," (forthcoming) (co-authored with Patrick Forber) in the Journal of Philosophy; “The Evolutionary Dynamics of Spite in Finite Populations," 2012 (co-authored with Patrick Forber) in Evolution; and “Game Theoretic Equilibria and the Evolution of Learning," in the Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence (2012).