Now, about 30 years after graduating from Columbus East High School in 1992, Livesay is the dean of computing at Michigan Technological University — and the 2023 inductee into East’s Alumni Wall of Fame.
An award reception will be held at East at 6 p.m. April 3, said Columbus East Alumni Association Chair Mark Foster. Livesay also plans to meet with individuals at Cummins, Inc and local students during his time in Columbus.
As a first generation college student, there was a lot about higher education he didn’t know, so he sees this as an opportunity to give back and talk to students about thinking through their next steps.
“The college you pick is actually one of the most influential decisions you’ll ever make,” said Livesay. “And it’s probably a decision you make with the least amount of information.”
For his part, Livesay studied for a couple of years at IUPUI-Columbus (now IUPUC), then transferred to Ball State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He then earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Since then, he has held a variety of roles at academic institutions, including California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Wichita State University and Michigan Tech. According to his bio with Michigan Tech, Livesay’s career and research have spanned a variety of fields, such as biophysics, chemistry, computing, data science, engineering and biology.
Livesay’s passion for science was something he discovered in high school — with chemistry, in particular, being something he learned to love thanks to East teacher Jack Young, who died in 2012.
While he has held a number of positions in different fields, Livesay will always consider himself a chemist.
“To this day, I sort of live at the interface between chemistry, physics and computing,” he said. “But it started, that first origins of it was sophomore chemistry in Jack’s class.”
When asked about his experience with high school, Livesay said that, as is true for most people, it was both good and bad. He praised East as a “wonderful school” built around progressive ideas that helped students establish independence.
“I thrived at Columbus East and felt like I was really well-prepared for college afterwards because of it,” he said. “And high school’s also rough, right? It’s a tough time for people as they’re establishing themselves as young adults and having to deal with other kids and learning to deal with those emotions and learning how to deal with people. So I’d be lying if I said it was uniformly great, but I think Columbus East was a fantastic school, and it was as good as it could have been.”
Livesay didn’t go out for school sports and said that he has mixed feelings about that decision. He spent much of his time cycling, often with friends, and would race more than 40 times a year.
Nowadays, he still mountain bikes for fun but does not race or ride road bikes anymore. After stepping back from cycling, he took up running and, more recently, has started playing hockey.
However, his main hobby is LEGO building — so much so that the entire third floor of his house is dedicated to LEGO and includes a 100-square-foot LEGO city. He remarked that this interest, as well as an amateur interest in architecture, were impacted by growing up in Columbus.
When asked what he felt his greatest achievement is, Livesay replied, “I hope I haven’t achieved it yet. What I’m very proud of is that I have taken a path that is not necessarily typical, and I have continually tried to reinvent myself. All my degrees are in chemistry, although I’ve had faculty appointments in academic departments like bioinformatics, computer science, bioengineering. I have worked in four different universities now since I finished my Ph.D. I’ve been in very many different roles in higher ed. So I think what I’m most proud of is the fact that I’m able to adapt and evolve and continually keep pushing myself into things I didn’t previously know.”
In the same vein, he would advise high school students to try new things and take advantage of the opportunities around them.
“Lean into discomfort,” said Livesay. “Do things that challenge you. Do things that you don’t think you’re going to be very good at, because one, you may surprise yourself; two, you may enjoy it and three, it’s how you improve.”