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

The Princeton Review has released its “Best 391 Colleges” for 2026. The list, which is based on college students’ ratings of their schools, ranks 91Ƶappƽ highly for campus beauty, faculty, the library, financial aid and more.

91Ƶappƽ President Danielle R. Holley spoke to CNN about being one of the few higher-education leaders pushing back against federal government overreach.

Teams and personnel across the 91Ƶappƽ campus won regional and national honors.

Recent Publications

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

View More