Mark Lewis
Where are you from?
Niceville, Florida
Please describe an experience (or 2) that helped you discover/ cultivate your interest in the mathematical sciences.
I have had many influences and mentors through the years. Each helped me continue to progress from where I was to the next phase. My mother and father were (and continue to be) my strongest advocates. When we arrived in Florida from the northeast, they fought to have the schools allow me to work at my own pace. I had a long series of excellent teachers who treated me like they would have any of my white counterparts. I graduated from high school with a solid mathematical base. From there I again found the Mathematics department at Eckerd College to be a place of exciting and deep exploration. At that time, my professors exposed me to research and allowed me to take specialized courses in combinatorics, real analysis, operations research and partial differential equations. I do not know how often the professors there are still able to teach those courses (the classes were small), but for me it was a rich and inclusive environment to learn. In graduate school (at Georgia Tech) I was involved with research year round. My thesis advisors provided the “guided freedom” I needed and the Cooperative Research Fellowship Program at Bell Labs gave me access to some of the world’s premiere researchers in the summers. Lastly, I spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia. After having always been told what the next thing is, my postdoc advisor, pointed me in a direction and set me up for an independent research career.
What is/are your most proud accomplishment(s) in regards to your career in the mathematical sciences?
Each promotion breaks down a new wall. I was the first African-American hired in Industrial Engineering at Michigan, the first tenured in my current department (the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering (ORIE)), the first African-American Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Faculty Development in the college of engineering, etc. So, I guess I would say that the proudest professional accomplishment is the latest one. By the way, we have since hired the second African-American in the School of ORIE. I would like to think that my being here in some small way was a catalyst for the second hire.
What is/are your most proud accomplishment(s) in regards to your personal life?
I married the person whose opinion i respect the most.Virtually every decision I make starts with a consultation with her. We have two daughters whom I hope look up to me.