Lewis Church

Lewis Church (PhD ’10) is a principal software developer at SAS Institute Inc. He has worked for the company since 1987 in the area of SQL query processor internals and architecture.

His current research interests include parallel and distributed information retrieval, analytic models of performance, optimal query processing strategies, and the computational complexity of information retrieval algorithms.

Church is a member of two honor societies. He was inducted into the Brown University chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, in April 1986. In May 2011, he was inducted into the Epsilon Chapter of Beta Phi Mu at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and awarded the 2011 Academic Achievement Award for the Epsilon Chapter of Beta Phi Mu.

Church holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a Master of Science in Applied Science from the College of William and Mary, a Master of Science in Computer Science from Brown University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Information and Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC, his concentration was in information science.

"The PhD program at SILS was the most enjoyable and intellectually stimulating graduate experience that I've ever been a part of," Church said. "It taught me how to conduct high-quality, doctoral-level research in information science. A large part of my SILS experience was the supportive faculty and the mentoring that I received from Dr. Robert M. Losee, my adviser and dissertation committee chair. Dr. Losee was always available to listen to my thoughts, offer encouragement, and provide comments and feedback in a very timely manner. As a result of my doctoral studies at SILS, I feel extremely confident that I'm well-prepared for future endeavors, both academic and industrial, in certain areas of information and computer science."

Church is now a member of the SILS Alumni Inclusion and Diversity (SAID) Committee.