Occupation Aerospace Engineer Name Mark Lewis | Role Rocket scientist | |
Born 1962 (age 53–54) Yonkers, New York, United States Known for former Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force Education Massachusetts Institute of Technology | ||
Dr. Mark J. Lewis was the Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. from 2004 to 2008 and was the longest-serving Chief Scientist in Air Force history. He served as chief scientific adviser to the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Air Force, and provided assessments on a wide range of scientific and technical issues affecting the Air Force mission. In this role he identified and analyzed technical issues and brought them to attention of Air Force leaders, and interacted with other Air Staff principals, operational commanders, combatant commands, acquisition, and science & technology communities to address cross-organizational technical issues and solutions. His primary areas of focus included energy, sustainment, long-range strike technologies, advanced propulsion systems, and workforce development.
Contents
- Biography
- Education
- Career chronology
- Awards and honors
- Professional memberships and associations
- References
He additionally interacted with other services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense on issues affecting the Air Force in-house technical enterprise. He also served on the Steering Committee and Senior Review Group of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), and was the principal science and technology representative of the Air Force to the civilian scientific and engineering community and to the public at large. He is currently a member of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and Director of the Science and Technology Policy Institute.
Biography
Dr. Lewis joined the faculty of the Aerospace Engineering department of the Clark School at the University of Maryland in College Park in August 1988. He has conducted basic and applied research in, and taught many aspects of, hypersonic aerodynamics, advanced propulsion, and space vehicle design and optimization. His work has spanned the aerospace flight spectrum, from the analysis of conventional jet engines to entry into planetary atmospheres at hypervelocity speeds. His research activities have contributed directly to several NASA and Department of Defense programs in the areas of high-speed vehicle and spacecraft design. Lewis was the founder of the Center for Hypersonic Education and Research, and later the NASA-Air Force Constellation University Institutes Project.
Dr. Lewis was formerly the Willis Young Jr. Professor and Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland at College Park (stepping down in April 2012). He was also formerly president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He is an author of over 280 technical publications and has served as the research advisor to more than 60 graduate students. He is active in national and international professional societies, with responsibilities for both research and educational policy and support. In addition, he has served on various advisory boards for the Air Force and DOD, including two terms on the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, where he participated in several summer studies and chaired a number of science and technology reviews of the Air Force Research Laboratory. He is currently on leave from the University of Maryland, while he serves as the Director of the Science and Technology Policy Institute in the Institute for Defense Analysis.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lewis received two Bachelor of Science degrees (in aeronautics and astronautics and in earth and planetary science), and Master of Science and Doctor of Science degrees in aeronautics and astronautics. He is a fellow of the AIAA and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a President's Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and was named an aerospace Laureate by the editors of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine for his pioneering efforts in promoting research and development of high-speed flight.
Education
Career chronology
- 1988–1999, Assistant Professor, later, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
- 1999–2004, Professor and Associate Chair of Aerospace Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
- 2002–2004, Director, Space Vehicle Technology Institute, College Park, Md.
- 2004–2008, Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
- 2008 – present, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
- 2009 – 2012, Chair of Aerospace Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
- 2009–2010, President-elect, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- 2010 – present, President, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics