Mihhail Berezovski, associate professor of Mathematical Sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, is at the forefront of creating data science expertise and cross-disciplinary engagement strategies.
Dr. Berezovski has successfully encouraged students and teachers at all levels to engage in research and applied data science. In 2021, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded him a $360,000 grant to develop a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Embry-Riddle. The three-year grant has provided for a diverse group of ten students annually to conduct real-world research in data-enabled industrial mathematics, a discipline that centers on resolving technical, organizational, and data-enabled problems posed by business, industry, and government.
Berezovski also serves as coordinator of the Data Science track for the B.S. in Computational Mathematics program and is a co-principal investigator on projects funded by METIS Solutions, a government services provider, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS grant supports research on recognizing online manipulation tactics by extremist organizations.
He holds a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Engineering Physics from Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, and he conducted his post-doctoral work at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
Berezovski has developed partnerships in the field of applied data science with several Embry-Riddle departments. These include Security Studies and International Affairs; Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology; Aviation Maintenance Science; and Civil Engineering. He has also encouraged cooperation between the Daytona Beach, Florida and Prescott, Arizona campuses.
Berezovski has established long-term research collaborations with industry and government labs. Partners include, among others, the Nevada National Security Site in Las Vegas; OneSky Flight, LLC in Daytona Beach; and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington.
His research focuses on applied data science in industrial mathematics, data-driven computational mathematics, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. More than 170 undergraduate students from 24 universities have participated in over 60 major research projects under his mentorship at Embry-Riddle.
Many students have since gone on to graduate-level research or to work for Fortune 100 companies, including Northrop Grumman, Goldman Sachs, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
Students “will be in a world full of data” when they graduate and enter the job market, Berezovski has said. “I want them to have the skills to conduct industrial mathematics research.”
Berezovski has been repeatedly recognized for his teaching excellence at Embry-Riddle. In 2022, he received the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Leadership and Innovation and the Faculty Mentor of the Year Award. In 2023, he was elected as a new councilor for the Mathematics and Computer Science Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR).
Above all else, Berezovski fosters a climate of belonging, respect, inclusion, and well-being in the classroom and on campus. He oversees programs geared toward helping students who are struggling financially and has sought to empower students from historically underrepresented groups in STEM to take part in undergraduate research and to learn data science skills.
Berezovski calls teaching the greatest and most fulfilling experience of his life. He infuses his classroom with enthusiasm and excitement and aims to help all his students recognize their talents and potential.
