Michael D. Smith (computer scientist)

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title: "Michael D. Smith (computer scientist)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "american-computer-scientists", "peddie-school-alumni", "princeton-university-alumni", "worcester-polytechnic-institute-alumni", "stanford-university-school-of-engineering-alumni", "harvard-faculty-of-arts-and-sciences-faculty", "harvard-john-a.-paulson-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences-faculty", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)"] description: "American computer scientist" topic_path: "engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D.Smith(computer_scientist)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American computer scientist ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox academic"]

Field	Value
name	Michael D. Smith
education
thesis_title	Support for Speculative Execution in High-Performance Processors
thesis_year	1992
doctoral_advisor	Mark Horowitz and Monica S. Lam
website
module	{{Infobox officeholder
office1	Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
term_start1	July 2007
term_end1	August 2018
predecessor1	Jeremy R. Knowles
successor1	Claudine Gay
office2	Interim Dean of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
predecessor2	Francis J. Doyle III
term_start2	July 2023
thesis_url	http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/csl/tr/93/556/CSL-TR-93-556.pdf
discipline	Computer scientist
workplaces	Harvard University
title	Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences
::

| name = Michael D. Smith | education = | thesis_title = Support for Speculative Execution in High-Performance Processors | thesis_year = 1992 | doctoral_advisor = Mark Horowitz and Monica S. Lam | website = | module = {{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes | office1 = Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences | term_start1 = July 2007 | term_end1 = August 2018 | predecessor1 = Jeremy R. Knowles | successor1 = Claudine Gay | office2 = Interim Dean of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences | predecessor2 = Francis J. Doyle III | term_start2 = July 2023 | thesis_url = http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/csl/tr/93/556/CSL-TR-93-556.pdf | discipline = Computer scientist | workplaces = Harvard University | title = Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Michael David Smith is a professor at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences of Harvard University and has been serving as the school's interim dean since 2023. Smith's titles within Harvard include John H. Finley, Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Distinguished Service Professor. Smith's previous appointments as an academic administrator include service as dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Education

Smith graduated from the Peddie School in 1979. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University in 1983, his Master of Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1985, and his Doctor of Philosophy in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1993. His doctoral thesis, Support for Speculative Execution in High-Performance Processors, was published as a technical report in 1992; his advisor was Mark Horowitz, and additional advising was provided by Monica S. Lam.

Career

From 1989 to 1992, Smith worked as a teaching and research assistant at Stanford University. He became an instructor at Harvard in 1992, received successive promotions, and taught the course CS50 from 2002 to 2006. In 2007, while serving as the associate dean for computer science and engineering, Smith was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, effective July 2007. During his tenure as dean, he was described as taking a "hands-off approach" to a wave of cheating in CS50. Smith was described in a 2013 feature in The Harvard Gazette as "a remarkably adept problem solver in navigating FAS through the financial crisis." He announced that he was stepping down from the role in March 2018, and served until August of that year. Smith was appointed to a new role in July 2023 as Interim Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He also serves as a faculty athletics representative for the Harvard Crimson.

References

References

1. Hamid, Rahem D.. (May 30, 2023). "Michael Smith Returns To Administration As Interim SEAS Dean".
2. "Michael D. Smith". [[Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences]].
3. "Board of Trustees". [[The Peddie School]].
4. "Michael D. Smith". [[Harvard University]].
5. Smith, Michael David. (November 1992). "Support for Speculative Execution in High-Performance Processors". [[Stanford University]].
6. (June 7, 2007). "Michael D. Smith named next dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences".
7. Karr, Mia C.. (May 8, 2017). "With CS50 Cheating Cases, FAS Dean Taking Hands-Off Approach".
8. Fandos, Nicholas P.. (October 3, 2013). "The Making of Harvard's Most Powerful Dean".
9. Marina N., Bolotnikova. (March 19, 2018). "FAS Dean Mike Smith to Step Down".
10. Doan-Nguyen, Ryan. (May 31, 2023). "President-elect Claudine Gay Announces Interim Deans".
11. "Michael D. Smith – Faculty Athletics Representative". [[Harvard University]].

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