2026 David E. Smith: Earth Science Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Earth Science	90	272	232	147	123	269	26670

David E. Smith publication distribution in Earth Science in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Earth Science in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where David E. Smith sits on this spectrum.

38 publications 510+

This scientist: 269 publications — 81st percentile

81% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 510 publications or more.

David E. Smith D-index placement in Earth Science in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Earth Science scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where David E. Smith sits on this spectrum.

30 D-Index 94+

This scientist: 90 D-Index — 97th percentile

97% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 94 D-Index or more.

Overview

David E. Smith is affiliated with MIT in the United States. Their research is primarily situated in the field of Physics and Astronomy, with a concentration on subfields such as Astronomy and Astrophysics, Aerospace Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Management Science and Operations Research, and Atmospheric Science.

The scientist's main topics of investigation include Planetary Science and Exploration, Astro and Planetary Science, Space Exploration and Technology, Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life, Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies, Data Quality and Management, and Semantic Web and Ontologies.

Recent publications by David E. Smith reflect a focus on planetary science, especially related to lunar and planetary surface analysis and space mission planning. Some notable papers include:

Improved LOLA elevation maps for south pole landing sites: Error estimates and their impact on illumination conditions, 2020, Planetary and Space Science
Science Goals and Mission Architecture of the Europa Lander Mission Concept, 2022, The Planetary Science Journal
Know, Know Where, KnowWhereGraph: A densely connected, cross-domain knowledge graph and geo-enrichment service stack for applications in environmental intelligence, 2022, AI Magazine
A New View of the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), 2023, The Planetary Science Journal
The South Pole-Aitken Basin: Constraints on Impact Excavation, Melt, and Ejecta, 2024, Geophysical Research Letters

The venues where David E. Smith most frequently publishes include The Planetary Science Journal, Planetary and Space Science, arXiv (Cornell University), AI Magazine, and Geophysical Research Letters.

Frequent collaborators in their work comprise:

E. Mazarico
M. T. Zuber
G. A. Neumann
Xiaoli Sun
J. W. Head

Best Publications

Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter: Experiment summary after the first year of global mapping of Mars

David E. Smith;Maria T. Zuber;Herbert V. Frey;James B. Garvin

1718
Citations
The Crust of the Moon as Seen by GRAIL

Mark A. Wieczorek;Gregory A. Neumann;Francis Nimmo;Walter S. Kiefer

989
Citations
The Mars Observer laser altimeter investigation

M. T. Zuber;D. E. Smith;S. C. Solomon;D. O. Muhleman

637
Citations
Dawn at Vesta: Testing the Protoplanetary Paradigm

C. T. Russell;C. A. Raymond;A. Coradini;H. Y. McSween

578
Citations
Gravity field of the Moon from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission.

Maria T. Zuber;David E. Smith;Michael M. Watkins;Sami W. Asmar

570
Citations
The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter Investigation on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission

David E. Smith;Maria T. Zuber;Glenn B. Jackson;John F. Cavanaugh

561
Citations
Ancient Geodynamics and Global-Scale Hydrology on Mars

Roger J. Phillips;Maria T. Zuber;Maria T. Zuber;Sean C. Solomon;Matthew P. Golombek

560
Citations
Initial observations from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)

David Edmund Smith;David Edmund Smith;Maria Zuber;Gregory A. Neumann;Frank G. Lemoine

556
Citations
A New Lunar Digital Elevation Model from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and SELENE Terrain Camera

M.K. Barker;E. Mazarico;G.A. Neumann;M.T. Zuber

544
Citations
The Development of the NASA GSFC and NIMA Joint Geopotential Model

F. G. Lemoine;D. E. Smith;L. Kunz;R. Smith

528
Citations
The Shape and Internal Structure of the Moon from the Clementine Mission

Maria T. Zuber;David E. Smith;Frank G. Lemoine;Gregory A. Neumann

499
Citations
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Overview: The Instrument Suite and Mission

Gordon Chin;Scott Brylow;Marc Foote;James Garvin

491
Citations
Hydrogen mapping of the lunar south pole using the LRO neutron detector experiment LEND.

I. G. Mitrofanov;A. B. Sanin;W. V. Boynton;G. Chin

432
Citations
The MESSENGER mission to Mercury: Scientific objectives and implementation

Sean C. Solomon;Ralph L. McNutt;Robert E. Gold;Mario H. Acuña

426
Citations
Topography of the Moon from the Clementine lidar

David E. Smith;Maria T. Zuber;Gregory A. Neumann;Frank G. Lemoine

366
Citations
Illumination conditions of the lunar polar regions using LOLA topography

E. Mazarico;E. Mazarico;G.A. Neumann;D.E. Smith;D.E. Smith;M.T. Zuber

365
Citations
Localized gravity/topography admittance and correlation spectra on Mars: Implications for regional and global evolution

Patrick J. McGovern;Sean C. Solomon;David E. Smith;Maria T. Zuber

363
Citations
An improved solution of the gravity field of Mars (GMM‐2B) from Mars Global Surveyor

F. G. Lemoine;D. E. Smith;D. D. Rowlands;M. T. Zuber

348
Citations
The lunar crust: Global structure and signature of major basins

Gregory A. Neumann;Maria T. Zuber;David E. Smith;Frank G. Lemoine

315
Citations
Gravity Field and Internal Structure of Mercury from MESSENGER

David E. Smith;Maria T. Zuber;Roger J. Phillips;Sean C. Solomon

313
Citations
Seasonal Variations of Snow Depth on Mars

David E. Smith;Maria T. Zuber;Maria T. Zuber;Gregory A. Neumann;Gregory A. Neumann

304
Citations
The crust of the Moon as seen by GRAIL

M. A. Wieczorek;A. S. Konopliv;F. G. Lemoine;E. Mazarico

2
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Maria T. Zuber MIT

Gregory A. Neumann Goddard Space Flight Center

Erwan Mazarico Goddard Space Flight Center

Sean C. Solomon Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

James W. Head Brown University

Sander Goossens Goddard Space Flight Center

Frank G. Lemoine Goddard Space Flight Center

Roger J. Phillips Washington University in St. Louis

Mark A. Wieczorek Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

Sami W. Asmar California Institute of Technology

External Links

Personal website of David E. Smith

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