Research Areas:
Hydraulics / Fluid Mechanics, Water Resources System, Analysis and Management, Flooding, Environmental Management, Science and Technology Policy

Prof. Joseph Lee obtained his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during 1969-1977. He then joined the faculty of the University of Delaware as an Assistant Professor, and moved to the University of Hong Kong in 1980, where he became Redmond Chair Professor of Civil Engineering in 1995, Dean of Engineering in 2000, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Vice President (Staffing) in 2004. In 2010, he took office as Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies at HKUST. He was also Chair Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering from 2010 to 2018, and Elman Family Professor of Engineering and Public Policy from 2017 to 2018.

Prof. Lee’s research revolves around the use of hydraulics to solve environmental problems, in particular the prediction and control of water quality. He is internationally recognized for his work on the theory of buoyant jets and its environmental applications. Prof. Lee has also been involved in various collaborative research projects. He is also the co-investigator of several projects funded by the Government, including the Environment and Conservation Fund and the Research Grants Council’s General Research Fund and Theme-based Research Scheme. He has published more than 190 papers in international refereed journals. In 2007, as founding Chief Editor, he led the launch of Elsevier’s Journal of Hydro-environment Research – which gained SCI journal status within three years. He is also Associate Editor of Environmental Fluid Mechanics (2011-), Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (1997-) and China Ocean Engineering (2007-).

Prof. Lee received numerous awards including the Innovation Award (First Prize, Sustainability) of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council (2017), the Karl Emil Hilgard Hydraulic Prize of the American Society of Civil Engineers (2013), the China State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (Second Class, 2010), the Hunter Rouse Hydraulic Engineering Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers (2009), the Innovation Award for Construction Industry of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (2002) and the Senior Research Fellowship Award of Croucher Foundation (1998). He was elected to the Royal Academy of Engineering, United Kingdom in 2008, and was bestowed Honorary Membership by the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research in 2015. He was also elected a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Prof. Lee has also served on numerous national and international committees. He is the Chairman of the Research Grants Council and of the Assessment Panel of the Hong Kong Public Policy Research Scheme.