Following nearly a decade's worth of research into the formation of alternate fullerene compounds (e.g. C, C), as well as the synthesis of endohedral metallofullerenes (M@C), reports of the identification of carbon nanotube structures led Smalley to begin investigating their iron-catalyzed synthesis.
As a consequence of this research, Smalley was able to persuade the administration of Rice University, under then-president Malcolm Gillis, to create Rices Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) focusing on any aspect of molecular nanotechnology.  It was renamed The Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology after Smalleys death in 2005, and has since merged with the Rice Quantum Institute, becoming the Smalley-Curl Institute (SCI) in 2015.
Smalleys latest research was focused on carbon nanotubes, specifically focusing on the chemical synthesis side of nanotube research. He is well known for his groups invention of the high-pressure carbon monoxide (HiPco) method of producing large batches of high-quality nanotubes. Smalley spun off his work into a company, Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. and associated nanotechnologies.
Smalley and his lab worked solely in this area of study and nothing else for approximately 10 years, up until the end of his life. His research lab carried the slogan "If it aint tubes, we dont do it" proudly.