# 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.
Spencer became well involved with the electrical engineering industry. 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. He began as an assistant professor in 1984 at Howard University. Spencer and Gary L. Harris founded the Materials Science Center of Excellence (formerly known as the Rockwell Solid State electrics Laboratory) in 1984 at Howard University at the invitation of Eugene DeLoatch. He became a 'full professor' in 1990 and concluded his career at Howard in 1999 as the David and Lucile Packard Chaired Professor of Materials Science. At Howard University, he was awarded a Young Investigator award from the National Science Foundation and named Presidential Scholar.
Spencer then taught as a professor of electrical engineering at Cornell University from 1999 to 2002. He progressed to 'Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies' at the College of Engineering from 2002 to 2008. At Bandgap Laboratory he directed research on 'semiconductors'- advancing his research. He also served as director of the Bandgap laboratory and of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Nano-Fabrication Network. In 2008, Spencer co-founded the company 'Wavetronix' to build low-power, long-life beta voltaic batteries.
Spencer became the dean of the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. School of Engineering at Morgan State University in Baltimore on January 4, 2017. He is the second dean in the school's history, succeeding Eugene M. Deloatch, and a professor of electrical and computer engineering, with a focus on semiconductors, microwave devices, and solar cells.
Spencer has more than 160 publications and 20 patents in the fields of compound semiconductors, graphene, power conversion, microwave devices, and solar cell technology.
He was also a committee member for the American Vacuum Society, the International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, the Electronic Materials Conferences Organizing Committee, and the Compound Semiconductor Symposium Organizing Committee.

## Research

Spencer assisted in making beat voltaic batteries. These batteries fed off the power of electrons from radioisotope decay, which is referred to as a beta emitter. These batteries scale better to smaller sizes and are much more temperature-resistant than, a lithium battery. Even with their small size, they still produce a noticeable output. Lithium batteries, on the other hand, fail to work the same at smaller sizes and do struggle under high amounts of heat.

## Selected publications

Publications include:
* "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 (QEM) 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