Michael G. Spencer

Michael G. Spencer is a computer scientist, electrical engineer, and professor at Morgan State University's Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. School of Engineering in Baltimore. His research and studies is concentrated on semiconductors, microwave devices, and solar cells.

Education and early life Spencer was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 9, 1952. His family members consisted of teachers, who had culturally rich backgrounds. Spencer grew up in Washington, D.C., and traveled to Ithaca, New York to study at Cornell University. He was interested in computer engineering because he wanted to expand his knowledge and gain experience of computer engineering.

Spencer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1974 and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1975. Spencer later returned to Cornell University in 1981 and was one of the first of two black men to earn a doctoral degree in electrical engineering.

Career From 1974 to 1977 Spencer worked at Bell Labs alongside the world's top scientists and innovators. in 1984 at Howard University at the invitation of Eugene DeLoatch. A semiconductor is a material that is electrically conductive and can act as an insulator, such as silicon or germanium. In computer engineering these materials are useful for keeping and stopping an electrical current in a computer chip at a compact size. Spencer dedicated a chunk of his research behind compound semiconductors.

Compound semiconductors are semiconductors that are made from two elements or more. Unlike semiconductors, which are made from a single element such as silicon, compound semiconductors typically consists of GaAs (Gallium Arsenide), GaN (Gallium Nitride), SiC (Silicon Carbide), etc. Compound semiconductors give a vast amount of benefits over regular semiconductors.

Spencer analyzed the correlation between the performance of a device with the material(s) being used. Spencer's more recent work has been centered around graphene and wide-band gap materials. Graphene semiconductors are considered to have the potential to outperform regular silicon based semiconductors in some areas, such as higher conductivity, speed, and thermal capabilities. Although it's stated that it'll likely not become a complete replacement to silicon, it is considered to have promising areas of strength. Spencer's research has contributed to the application of these materials to things like microwave devices, power conversion devices, betavoltaic batteries, and solar cells. "Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities in Two-Dimensional Materials Beyond Graphene". ACS Nano. 7 (4): 2898–2926. doi:10.1021/nn400280c. ISSN 1936-0851. "Oriented 2D Covalent Organic Framework Thin Films on Single-Layer Graphene". Science. 332 (6026): 228–231. doi:10.1126/science.1202747. ISSN 0036-8075. "Measurement of ultrafast carrier dynamics in epitaxial graphene".(2008). Applied Physics Letters. 92 (4). "Ultrafast Optical-Pump Terahertz-Probe Spectroscopy of the Carrier Relaxation and Recombination Dynamics in Epitaxial Graphene".(2008-12-10).Nano Letters. 8 (12): 4248–4251. doi:10.1021/nl8019399. ISSN 1530-6984.

Awards and nominations Awards and nominations include: Quality Education for Minorities Giants of Science Award 1996 Featured in PBS TV Series Breakthrough: Engineering From the Inside Out aired April 1996 Distinguished Visiting Scientist Appointment (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) 1990 Allen Berman Research Publication Award (Naval Research Laboratory) 1986 Presidential Young Investigator Award (National Science Foundation) 1985