Michael D. Smith

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. 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. He also serves as a faculty athletics representative for the Harvard Crimson.