Richard Errett Smalley (June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was an American chemist who was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy at Rice University.

In 1996, along with Robert Curl, also a professor of chemistry at Rice, and Harold Kroto, a professor at the University of Sussex, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of a new form of carbon, buckminsterfullerene, also known as buckyballs.

He was an advocate of nanotechnology and its applications.
 

Richard E. Smalley spends much of his time researching Carbon nanotube, Nanotechnology, Chemical engineering, Carbon and Nanotube.

His studies deal with areas such as Organic chemistry, Condensed matter physics and Raman spectroscopy as well as Carbon nanotube. Richard E. Smalley has included themes like Scientific method, Yield, Sulfuric acid and Amorphous solid in his Nanotechnology study.
 

His work in Chemical engineering tackles topics such as Catalysis which are related to areas like Nucleation.

His Carbon research includes elements of Compounds of carbon, Fullerene, Endohedral fullerene, Inorganic compound and Graphene.

His Fullerene research includes themes of Self-assembly and Crystallography.
 

2003 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 

1996 - Nobel Prize for their discovery of fullerenes

1993 - William H. Nichols Medal, American Chemical Society (ACS) 

1992 - Welch Award in Chemistry, Robert A. Welch Foundation 

1991 - Irving Langmuir Award, American Chemical Society (ACS) 

1990 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences