Neil Lewis, Jr. is a behavioral scientist who studies how the stories we tell, the programs we run, and the policies we enact affect people’s motivation and behavior as well as broader societal outcomes.
Lewis is a Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences at Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medicine, where he is an Associate Professor of Communication, Medicine, and Public Policy. He received his B.A. in economics and psychology from Cornell University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan.
Lewis’s research examines how the places where we live, the people we meet and interact with, and the messages we receive from individuals and institutions in those places affect how we make sense of what is happening around us. He is particularly interested in how these “meaning-making” processes affect motivation and behavior—how they shape what individuals, communities, and organizations do, as well as how they rationalize those decisions.
Lewis studies these processes not only as an intellectual exercise, but also because they matter for a broad range of societal outcomes such as education, health, and environmental sustainability. He often studies meaning-making in these domains in hopes that lessons learned from research can be applied to addressing these longstanding societal challenges.
At Cornell, Lewis co-founded and co-directs the Action Research Collaborative, an institutional hub that brings together researchers, practitioners, community members, and policymakers to collaborate on projects and initiatives designed to improve a variety of outcomes. He is also the inaugural associate director of the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures, a university-wide center that supports and sustains a community of scholars, students, and engaged partners who generate and act upon visions of just futures, where all people can thrive.
Outside of the university, Lewis is a publicly engaged scholar and science communicator. He routinely writes and speaks about the application of social and behavioral science research in public-facing venues. For example, he has been a contributing writer at The Atlantic and FiveThirtyEight, and a columnist at Science Magazine; he was also featured in the documentary film Divisible. In addition, he frequently advises and consults with organizations interested in applying research findings to address organizational and societal challenges. These include non-profit organizations, companies, and governmental organizations such as The White House.
Lewis’s research and public scholarship have been recognized by numerous awards and honors. These include: the Early Career Scholar Award from the International Communication Association, the Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science, and the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communication from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
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Neil Lewis, Jr. 