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

Lily E. Rood ’27 will serve as a Youth Ambassador for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for two years, raising awareness of its efforts to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ youth at home, at school, at work and beyond.

Before his Dec. 3 talk at Mount Holyoke College, award-winning author, journalist and professor Moustafa Bayoumi spoke about the most recent presidential election and why his book “How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?” is still relevant.

The $6 million gift by an anonymous donor will endow two new faculty chairs named for illustrious Mount Holyoke alums in the arts: the Debra Martin Chase ’77 Chair in Film Media Theater and the Suzan-Lori Parks ’85 Chair in Creative Writing.

Recent Publications

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

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