Purdue University announced Tuesday (April 11) the hire of Mark Lewis as the first chief executive officer of the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI), the nonprofit applied research arm of Purdue with a particular focus on national security, economic security and food security for the United States. A renowned researcher, professor and former deputy undersecretary of defense, Lewis brings a wealth of national security, scientific and academic experience to PARI.
“We couldn’t be happier that Mark will lead PARI,” said Karen Plaut, Purdue’s executive vice president for research. “He brings strategic leadership and research experience from the public and private sectors that will be vital to our large and complex portfolio of applied and translational research programs.”
Purdue established PARI in 2021 through its Next Moves initiative, a set of strategic investments designed to extend the reach and impact of Purdue’s research strengths and top-ranked academic programs in engineering, agriculture, science and technology, especially in hypersonics, energetics, cybersecurity, secure microelectronics and other research areas essential to national security.