Every year the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) gives its highest honor, the Dean’s Award for Achievement, to someone who has made a substantial contribution to the practice of engineering or the applied sciences and/or has had an exceptional professional career. Quite often the recipient has also performed outstanding service for the School or University.
This year’s recipient- Samuel Capen Professor of Engineering and Dean Emeritus Dr. George C. Lee, a career-long member of the UB SEAS faculty, has excelled in all of the award’s criteria. He is an outstanding researcher and educator, tenacious in his pursuit for world recognition of UB as a great research university.
Dr. Lee came to our Department of Civil Engineering from Lehigh University as an Assistant Professor in 1961. Earlier he had completed his master’s and doctorate at Lehigh and before that, his BS engineering degree at National Taiwan University. He rapidly rose to the rank of Associate Professor (1963), and then Professor (1967). He was appointed Dean of Engineering in January 1978 and served in that capacity until 1995. During his deanship, he oversaw SEAS’s period of greatest growth as sponsored program support increased from $2.3M to $20M in less than ten years.
Dr Lee’s research has concentrated on engineering mechanics. Initially, he carried out studies on inelastic behavior and stability of thin-walled, steel structural members sponsored by the Navy and the metal building industry- results provided comprehensive design guidelines of the American Institute of Steel Construction. In the 70’s Dr. Lee made important contributions to the then emerging field of biomechanics working on respiratory mechanics and lung tissue elasticity. His pioneering efforts in living systems resulted in becoming a charter member of U.S National Committee on Biomechanics and serving as bioengineering editor for the Journal of Engineering Mechanics, American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE).
In the calendar year 1977, Dr. Lee served the Engineering Division of the National Science Foundation (NSF) as the Section Head for Engineering Mechanics where he was responsible for a third of engineering research funding, principally for civil, environmental, aerospace, mechanical and industrial engineering. In just one year, he received the Superior Accomplishment Award in NSF that is normally given to individuals with many years of service.
Dr. Lee has also devoted himself to development of earthquake engineering at UB since the early 1970’s. He was instrumental in developing the earthquake engineering research facilities at UB funded by New York State and NSF. He was key contributor in securing national career grant on earthquake research from NSF. This effort was the largest single grant to SUNY system at its time. As important as the research that this Center has enabled, it has increased UB’s visibility and contributed greatly to our national and international reputation.
As Director of the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, now called the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, he steered the research activities of the center towards the design and construction of intelligent physical infrastructures. Due to his multiple research interests and accomplishments, he was asked to serve the funding agencies as a review panel member, advisory panel member, and site visiting team member by NSF, National Research Council (NRC) and National Institute of Health. He has also served as a member of the NRC Committee of Hazard Mitigation Engineering.
Dr. Lee’s contributions to SEAS and the University have been equally impressive. His efforts to develop large-scale sponsored program activity for SEAS played a significant role in elevating UB to American Association of Universities (AAU) membership. He also successfully led state initiatives, spearheading a SUNY engineering initiative in the 80s that provided dramatic growth of both UB’s SEAS and Stony Brook’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He also played a central role in the formation of Calspan-University at Buffalo Research Center (CUBRC) - a university - private sector research partnership, the first of its kind in SUNY. In the 90s, he advanced a Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence program and a distance learning network (EngiNet) with colleague SUNY engineering schools to contribute to economic development in New York State. At the federal level, he was a principal in the Greater Regional Industrial Technology program, a product-oriented development assistance program done with Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University and the University of Rochester. Since 1995 he has been contributing his expertise to UB as Senior University Advisor for Technology.
Dr. Lee is also leading innovator in engineering education: he developed socio-engineering in civil engineering education with a major NSF grant in 1969 that provoked national interest; launched on effort to reach minority high school students for possible careers in engineering, this effort later evolved into the Buffalo Engineering Awareness of Minorities (BEAM) program; and led the development of Master of Engineering (practice-oriented, industry based) degree programs of SEAS. The collective success of these efforts has greatly enriched engineering education
Dr. Lee has received numerous awards including the UB President’s Medal for distinguished university service; the 1995 UB Alumni Association’s Walter P. Cooke Award, their highest Award to a non-alumnus; and the 2000 Nathan M. Newmark Medal from the Engineering Mechanics division and Structural Engineering Division, ASCE for contributions in structural mechanics.
Dr. Lee lives with his wife Mrs. Grace Lee in Amherst, New York. They are proud parents of Dr. David Lee and Dr. Calvin Lee who have followed academic paths.
Today we proudly recognize Dr. Lee with this year’s Dean’s award for his career achievements and exceptional contributions to our School and University.