Jonathan Spanier

Assistant Professor

Office:   LeBow 27-440

Phone:  +1 215 895 2301

E-mail: spanier@drexel.edu


DegreesB.A. (Physics, Music, Drew University, 1990)

M.S.E.E. (The Catholic University of America, 1994)

Ph.D (Columbia University, 2001)
ResearchNanostructured electronic and photonic materials and devices; multifunctional ferroics and phase transitions; nano-laminate materials, electronic structure and lattice dynamics; scanning probe microscopy; Raman scattering spectroscopy.

BioJonathan E. Spanier received a B.A. degree in physics from Drew University in Madison NJ, and received the Ph.D. with Distinction from Columbia University in 2001 for studies in applied physics (condensed matter) with Professor Irving P Herman. He completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in physical chemistry at Harvard University with Professor Hongkun Park prior to joining the Drexel faculty in 2003.

At present Dr. Spanier is assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE), and also serves as the Interim Associate Department Head for MSE (since 2006). He holds an affiliated appointment in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to completing the Ph.D., Professor Spanier held research and technical staff positions at the US Naval Research Laboratory in physical acoustics and in the semiconductor device industry. He was a visiting lecturer at the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, in 2001.


Professor Spanier's current research interests include the synthesis of, and collective electronic, optical and functional properties in individual single- and multi-component inorganic nanostructures, and in thin-film materials and devices. Professor Spanier's group applies a variety of experimental methods, including variable-temperature and multi-channel scanning proximal probes, Raman scattering spectroscopy, and high-resolution electron and ion-beam microscopy and nano-fabrication. Professor Spanier received the US Army Research Office (ARO) Young Investigator Award in 2004, the Nano-Bio Interface Innovation Award in 2005, and the Outstanding Research Award in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at Drexel for 2007. In 2007, Professor Spanier was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for 2006. His work is currently supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the US Army Research Office (ARO), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the MITRE Corporation, Air Products Corporation, Structured Materials Industries, Inc., and the Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Professor Spanier is a member of the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society and the Materials Research Society.

LabMesoMaterials Laboratory