David Schmidt grew up in North Carolina and attended North Carolina State University as an undergraduate.  He received a Masters of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University.  In 1997, he earned his PhD. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  That same year, he helped to found Convergent Science, a small CFD consulting firm that is currently thriving.  Concurrently, David was a Visiting Scientist at MIT.  He has served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts since 2000, and was tenured in 2006 and promoted to Associate Professor.  He now also serves as the Graduate Program Director for Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

David's research is in the fluid mechanics of two-phase flow.  For his PhD., he studied cavitation in diesel fuel injector nozzles.  Since then, he has focused more on sprays and flash-boiling.  He is studying primary atomization, droplet collision, non-Newtonian atomization, and new numerical methods for sprays.  His research will help diesel, gasoline, and aircraft engines operate efficiently while producing less pollution.  He is the winner of the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award for his research on direct numerical simulation of atomization and the Ralph R. Teetor Award for his contributions to teaching, research, and student development.  He currently serves on the editorial board of Atomization and Sprays and serves as a member of governing board of the Institute for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems.