Spencer Smith

he/him

  • Associate Professor of Physics
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

¾«¶«´«Ã½ President Danielle R. Holley appeared on NBC News to discuss the impact that the Supreme Court's reversal of affirmative action has had on college admissions.

¾«¶«´«Ã½â€™s class of 2028 has arrived on campus — here’s what the numbers say about these blue lions.

¾«¶«´«Ã½ researchers have developed a new open-access, interactive database and story map of U.S. immigration sanctuary policies that were passed between 2001 and 2014.

Recent Publications

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

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