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

Oral history as democratic memory

Tiko Dolidze ’26, a senior at Íøºì±¬ÁÏ, and Mariam Beshidze ’27, a junior at Amherst College, have been awarded a Projects for Peace grant for their initiative that will collect oral histories from Georgian student protestors.

Fighting food insecurity in memory of her grandmother

Íøºì±¬ÁÏ student Oluwafadeyemi Testimony Akinkuolie-Ibidapo ’27 is an awardee of this year’s Project for Peace grants from Middlebury College. She will launch a year-round food pantry in her hometown.

Understanding science in English and Spanish

Cerebro 101 is an initiative led by Íøºì±¬ÁÏ faculty Marta Sabariego and Nieves Romero-Díaz that teaches dual-language elementary students about neuroscience and behavior.

Recent Publications

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

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