Theodore E. Madey (October 24, 1937 – July 27, 2008) was an American condensed matter physicist who specialized in the chemistry and physics of surfaces.

[5] His grandparents and parents lived in Delaware’s New Castle County at the time of his birth, where his Polish-born grandfather worked for a shipbuilding company.

[6] At a young age, his family relocated to Baltimore, MD where he was raised,[2][3][4] and attended Loyola Blakefield High School.

[4] Madey went on to attend graduate school in physics at the University of Notre Dame and continued to work in the field of vacuum science.

[10][11] Madey served on a number of scientific editorial boards, and also held a variety of elected and appointed leadership roles in the AVS.

[4] Madey's research activities fell into three areas:[3][13] His technique using desorption of atoms induced by electronic transitions to study surfaces was known as (DIET).

[17][18] Madey also co-authored, along with Patricia Thiel, a highly cited and comprehensive review article describing the interactions and properties of water near solid surfaces.