Melissa A. Smith

Dr. Melissa Alyson Smith is an assistant leader in the Advanced Materials and Microsystems Group, where she leads interdisciplinary teams that drive innovation in fields spanning computation, aerospace, optical systems, and bioengineering by applying micro- and nanofabrication techniques. In addition, she provides recommendations for internal technology investments by serving in leadership positions for basic and applied research portfolios.

Prior to joining the Laboratory, Smith worked at IBM Microelectronics, where she developed processes for epitaxial thin films for the 14 nm CMOS technology node. She has additional industry experience in materials testing, characterization, and processing through internships at Deere & Company, 3M, and Xerox Corporation.

Smith is an inventor of 11 patents and several other intellectual property disclosures. She demonstrated the first high-voltage thin-film transistor (U.S. Patent 9,525,071 B2) based on an organic semiconductor for widely distributable and flexible high-voltage electronic systems.  While at IBM, she earned Invention Achievement and Patent Application Awards. While at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, she was awarded Best Invention in 2020 for “Electrospray devices and methods for fabricating electrospray devices” (U.S. Patent 11,708,182 B2). Designated as a promising early career engineer by the National Academy of Engineering, she was invited to the U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium in 2020.

Smith received her PhD degree in materials science and engineering from MIT and her BS degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.