Spencer Smith

he/him

  • Associate Professor of Physics
  • Chair of Physics & Astronomy
Spencer Smith, Faculty

Spencer Smith's work seeks to characterize the complexity inherent in chaotic fluid motion by uncovering dynamically relevant and topologically robust fluid structures. He investigates how these ideas are pertinent from micro-fluidic chips at the small scale to pollution tracking and prediction in oceanic flows on a much larger scale and touch on some of the deep questions in fluid dynamics, such as the nature of turbulence.

Spencer is also very interested in the intersection of art and physics, and he curated a show at the MHC Art Museum in fall 2017 on the science photographs of Berenice Abbott. 

Areas of Expertise

physics (fluid dynamics); math (dynamic systems theory & topology); computer science (finite elements, data structures, algorithm development, and numerical methods)

Education

  • Ph.D., M.S., Tufts University
  • B.A., Dartmouth College

Happening at Mount Holyoke

Recent Campus News

Teams and personnel across the Íøºì±¬ÁÏ campus won regional and national honors.

Íøºì±¬ÁÏ students who did research projects on campus this summer had the opportunity to present their work at a symposium in Kendade Hall.

Six long-serving faculty members have retired from Íøºì±¬ÁÏ.

Recent Publications

Smith, S.A., Gong, R. (2022). Braiding dynamics in active nematics. Frontiers in Physics, 10.

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