Professor
School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering

Adrian Lewis could be best described as an analyst, focusing on optimization issues related to both logistics and variational questions, and with a particular interest in problems involving eigenvalues.

In essence, optimization is the mathematical study of resource allocation. Lewis is concentrating on non-smooth optimization using a new kind of calculus. “My area is the study of problems not best addressed by traditional calculus. I'm particularly interested in issues involving the stability of systems.”

As a simple example Lewis offers the design of a vehicle shock absorber, in which engineers must choose the parameters for the viscosity of the oil and predict how a change in that viscosity affects the final product and its stability.

Other applications might include the design of automatic feedback control mechanisms for planes or satellites, or achieving optimal stability in buildings and other structures that could be affected by wind or earth tremors.

“My interest is to analyze such problems, experimenting with small changes in the parameters, and determine the effects on a system,” he says. “As a mathematical engineer, I enjoy the conjunction of mathematical concepts with real-world applications. There is a sense of accomplishment in establishing connections between the abstract world and concrete interpretations.”

Lewis won a 2005 Outstanding Paper Prize from SIAM - the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He received the 2003 Lagrange Prize for Continuous Optimization (awarded jointly by SIAM and the Mathematical Programming Society), and the 1995 Aisenstadt Prize from the Centre de Recherches Mathematiques of Canada. He serves on the editorial boards of SIAM Journal on Optimization, Mathematical Programming (Series A), Mathematics of Operations Research, and the SIAM/MPS Book Series on Optimization.

After completing his doctorate in 1987 at the University of Cambridge, Lewis held research fellowships at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and Dalhousie University in Canada. He joined the Cornell faculty in 2004 after three years at Simon Fraser University and 10 years at the University of Waterloo.

Lewis teaches a variety of courses based around optimization, ranging from doctoral level courses on optimization theory and numerical methods, master’s-level courses focusing on network optimization, and on an overview of optimization techniques for systems engineers, and an undergraduate course on linear programming.

Professor Lewis's Web site