Here, he studied Latin (a skill he would make much use of later in his life) and was encouraged to continue pursuing his interest in chemistry.

His mathematics teacher, H. E. Piggott, had a particular influence on Aris due to "the liveliness, enthusiasm, and care that he brought to his teaching", which "were unparalleled in my experience".

[1] Piggot spent substantial time on pure and applied mathematical papers, an experience that Aris described as "extraordinary".

[2] Piggot helped Aris to get a job working for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) as a laboratory technician in the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Research Labs, at the age of 17.

He sat 12 papers (exams) covering a wide range of mathematical topics, and got a degree with first-class honours.

In 1955, Neal Amundson of the University of Minnesota, who was on sabbatical at Cambridge, visited the ICI Research Department, where Aris was working.

Amundson suggested to ICI, during his visit, that Aris be sent to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis for a year of study.

Aris began working on chemically reacting laminar flow, applying Kummer's hypergeometric function to the problem, and control of a stirred tank reactor with some unusual properties.

Aris returned to Minneapolis in the summer of 1957 to continue his work on the stirred tank reactor problem.

Aris had not formally received a Ph.D., but had registered three years earlier with the University of London, where he had earned his B.Sc., and which offered Ph.D. degrees by correspondence.

A Ph.D. degree could be earned without following a strict preparation process; the individual needed to propose a research program after 3 years, select a committee of examiners, and submit a dissertation, and after an oral examination by and approval from the committee, the degree would be granted.

The dynamic programming method had originally been developed for economics, but Bellman was attracted by applications in engineering, and the meeting led to a joint collaboration and a publication.

Aris's research at the University of Minnesota focused on optimization, dynamic programming, control theory, Taylor diffusion, and computing engines.

This also provided Aris an opportunity to participate in the board overseeing the formation and development of Los Alamos National Lab's Center for Nonlinear Studies, which allowed Aris the opportunity to travel to Los Alamos during the 1970s and 1980s.

Aris was appointed acting head of the department, while Amundson left Minnesota for the University of Houston.

At the University of Minnesota, Aris was able to pursue his interest in paleography when he was granted a professorship in the Classics Department, where he taught classes and published books and research articles.

Additionally, through a personal connection at the University of Leeds, Aris was able to spend several weeks there as Brotherton Professor in 1985.

Over the course of his long academic career, Aris was a visiting professor at many institutions, including Cambridge University, the California Institute of Technology, and Princeton University; he authored 13 books and more than 300 chemical engineering research articles, and mentored 48 Ph.D. and 20 M.S.