David Smith

David Smith is Regents' Professor in the Department of Physics at Arizona State University and concurrently a Distinguished Global Futures Scientist within the Global Futures Scientists and Scholars initiative. Since 1984 he has directed ASU’s Center for High Resolution Electron Microscopy and served as Principal Investigator for the NSF National User Facility for High Resolution Electron Microscopy. His leadership roles also include Associate Chair for Space & Infrastructure in Physics (2013–present), Director of the John M. Cowley Center (1991–2006) and President of the Microscopy Society of America (2009).

Education

• D.Sc., University of Melbourne, Australia (1988)
• Ph.D., University of Melbourne, Australia (1978)
• B.Sc. (Hons.), University of Melbourne, Australia (1970)

Research Overview

David Smith’s research is devoted to the development and application of atomic-resolution electron microscopy. Over four decades he has pioneered instrumentation and techniques that allow direct visualization of atomic arrangements in solids, enabling breakthrough insights into semiconductor heterostructures, nanostructures, oxide/semiconductor interfaces, magnetic multilayers and quantum-confined systems. Recent emphasis targets wide-band-gap nitrides for optoelectronics, two-dimensional electron gases at oxide interfaces, and nanoscale dopant distributions critical for next-generation electronic devices.

His work integrates aberration-corrected TEM, off-axis electron holography, in-situ microscopy and quantitative image simulation to correlate structure with functional properties at the sub-ångström scale.

Selected Scientific Awards & Honors

• Helmholtz International Fellowship Award, Helmholtz Foundation (2014)
• Distinguished Physical Scientist Award, Microscopy Society of America (2014)
• Harold Rose Distinguished Lectureship Award, German Microscopy Society (2019)
• Fellow, Materials Research Society
• Fellow, American Physical Society
• Fellow, Microscopy Society of America
• Fellow, Institute of Physics (U.K.)

Grants & Doctoral Advising

Smith has served as PI or co-PI on numerous federal and industry grants exceeding tens of millions of dollars. Current and recent funding includes:

• DOD-AFOSR – “Modulation-Doped Heterovalent Structures for High-Speed Electronic Device Applications” (2015–2018)
• UT-Austin – “Charge Transfer at Metal Dielectric Interfaces under Extreme Environments” (2014–2017)
• WYLE LABS – “Advanced Nanostructural Techniques for Nitride Device Operation” (2013–2016)
• NSF-MPS-PHY – “SusChEM: FRG: Molecular routes to new classes of polar/non-polar alloy semiconductors” (2013–2016)
• DOD-ARMY-ARO – “Advanced Microscopy and Analytical Studies for Hg-based Infrared Detector Materials and Substrates” (2013–2016)

He routinely supervises Ph.D. dissertations and M.S. theses; course offerings include PHY 799 Dissertation, MSE 554/555 Electron Microscopy II & Lab, and PHY 792 Research.

Laboratories & Teams

Smith directs operations within the John M. Cowley Center for High Resolution Electron Microscopy, one of the premiere university-based microscopy facilities in the United States, housing multiple aberration-corrected TEMs, environmental TEMs, and dedicated specimen-preparation suites. The center supports interdisciplinary teams spanning physics, materials science, chemistry, electrical engineering and geoscience, and hosts national and international visiting researchers via the NSF user facility program.