lˈuːɪs ɹᵻsˈiːvd hɪz pˌiːˈeɪtʃ dˈiː ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti æt ðə jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi ʌv mˈɪʃɪɡən ˌʌndɚ suːpɚvˈɪʒən ʌv ɹˈɪtʃɚd dˈæɡoʊbˌɜːt bɹˈaʊɚ, ænd sˈʌbsᵻkwəntli wʌz ɐn ˌɛnˌɛsˈɛf fˈɛloʊ æt ðɪ ˈɪnstɪtˌuːt fɔːɹ ɐdvˈænst stˈʌdi ɪn pɹˈɪnstən nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti tˈuː nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti θɹˈiː, ɐn ˌɛnˌɛsˈɛf sˈiːnjɚ fˈɛloʊ nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti nˈaɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti wˈʌn, ɐ sˈiːnjɚ vˈɪzɪɾɪŋ fˈɛloʊ æt kˈeɪmbɹɪdʒ jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti fˈaɪv, nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti nˈaɪn, ɐ vˈɪzɪɾɪŋ fˈɛloʊ æɾ ˈɑːksfɚd jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti sˈɪks, ænd hˈʌmboʊldt ɐwˈɔːɹdiː nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi, nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi θɹˈiː.
Lewis received his PhD in 1950 at the University of Michigan under supervision of Richard Dagobert Brauer, and subsequently was an NSF fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1952–1953), an NSF senior fellow (1959–1961), a senior visiting fellow at Cambridge University (1965, 1969), a visiting fellow at Oxford University (1976), and Humboldt Awardee (1980, 1983).