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

David Karp, director of the Center for Restorative Justice in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego, was welcomed to Mount Holyoke College as the keynote speaker for the eighth annual BOOM! Learning Symposium.

As the Public Theater prepares to stage Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks’ newest play, the New York Times caught up with the Mount Holyoke College alum to talk about her overall body of work and how she got to where she is today.

Becky Wai-Ling Packard, Mary E. Woolley professor of psychology and education, has been recognized as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Recent Publications

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

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