Roger Ekirch, of Roanoke, Va. a professor of early American history at Virginia Tech, was selected as this year's winner of the Charles Smith Award for his highly acclaimed book entitled At Day's Close: Night in Times Past, which examines the history of nocturnal activity before the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and electrical lighting. The Smith Award is presented in even-numbered years by the European History Section of the Southern Historical Association for the best book on European history published during the past two years.