The NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program welcomed Dr. W. J. "Jim" Lewis as the culminating Noyce 20th anniversary speaker.
Dr. Lewis presented his talk titled, "The Impact of NSF Support - Nebraska’s Story" virtually on November 2, 2022. Watch the video online here: https://www.nsf.gov/edu/Videos/2022Noyce20thLewis.jsp
Lewis is an Aaron Douglas Professor of Mathematics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he has served as chair of the Department of Mathematics and director of the Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education and currently serves as director of STEM Education Research Initiatives.
From 2015 to 2018 he worked at the National Science Foundation, serving first as Deputy Assistant Director and the as Acting Assistant Director for NSF's Education and Human Resources Directorate. Lewis is an elected fellow of both the American Mathematical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2015, he received the MAA's Gung and Hu Award for Distinguished Service and the AMS's Award for Impact on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics. Lewis has received the University of Nebraska's Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award and the Carnegie Foundation's Nebraska Professor of the Year Award.
Lewis was chair of the writing team for The Mathematical Education of Teachers II, co-chair of the National Research Council committee that produced Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics and Technology: New Practices for the new Millennium, a member of the AMS Task Force that produced Towards Excellence: Leading a Doctoral Mathematics Department in the 21st Century, a member of the NRC Committee that produced Preparing Teachers: Building Evidence for Sound Policy, and a member of the writing team for the Standards for Mathematics Teacher Preparation published by the Association for Mathematics Teacher Educators. Lewis earned his Ph.D. in mathematics at Louisiana State University. Over the past 30+ years, the Department of Mathematics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has made a major investment in mathematics education, emphasizing the mathematical education of teachers and active learning in the undergraduate mathematics classroom. Lewis will discuss Nebraska's story with emphasis on what has been possible because of NSF support.
The NSF also extends its appreciation to the Noyce community of PIs, Scholars, and Fellows who have made amazing contributions to STEM education and teacher preparation over the past 20 years.