David Erik Aspnes (born 1 May 1939 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American physicist and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1998).
Aspnes developed fundamental theories of the linear and nonlinear optical properties of materials and thin films, and the technology of spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE).
He continued his education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a Ph.D. degree[1] in physics with a mathematics minor in 1965.
In 1967 he joined the research area of Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, as a member of the technical staff.
He is chair of Class III of the National Academy of Sciences, has published approximately 500 papers, and holds 23 patents.