Shih-Ying Lee

Shih-Ying Lee or S. Y. Lee ({{zh|t=李詩穎|p=Lǐ Shīyǐng}}; April 30, 1918 – July 2, 2018) was an American aerodynamicist, businessman, inventor, and mechanical engineer who carried out research and innovation in hydrodynamics-related technologies. He was a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Biography

Lee was born in 1918 in Beijing, Republic of China.{{cite web |url=http://join-tsinghua.edu.cn/bkzsw/detail.jsp?seq=1181&boardid=1303 |script-title=zh:八十二岁的上班族——李诗颖(美国国家工程院院士)自述 |publisher=Tsinghua Admission |accessdate=Apr 24, 2010 |language=zh |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707024632/http://join-tsinghua.edu.cn/bkzsw/detail.jsp?seq=1181&boardid=1303 |archivedate=2011-07-07 }} Lee attended Tsinghua University in 1936, and obtained his bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1940.{{cite web |url=http://www.tsinghua.org.cn/alumni/infoSingleArticle.do?articleId=10037006 |script-title=zh:史际平：李诗颖教授的清华情 |publisher=Tsinghua Alumni Association |accessdate=Apr 24, 2010 |language=zh |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707050756/http://www.tsinghua.org.cn/alumni/infoSingleArticle.do?articleId=10037006 |archivedate=2011-07-07 }} Upon graduating, Lee worked as a bridge designer and hydraulic power research engineer for the Chinese government for nearly two years, then went to study in the United States in 1942. Lee obtained his Master and PhD in civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1943 and 1945.

After graduation, Lee worked for two years at Cram and Ferguson Architects, before returning to MIT as a research engineer. He joined MIT's faculty in 1952 and retired from there in 1974.{{cite web|url=http://www.nae.edu/MembersSection/Directory20412/28220.aspx |title=Dr. Shih-Ying Lee |publisher=United States National Academy of Engineering Membership Website membership dictionaries |accessdate=Dec 21, 2011}}

In 1985, Lee was elected a member of the United States National Academy of Engineering for his original research on control valve stability, for innovative dynamic measurement instrumentation, and for successful entrepreneurial commercialization of his inventions. Lee was granted many US patents.{{cite web |url=https://www.freepatentsonline.com/result.html?sort=relevance&srch=top&query_txt=LEE%3B+SHIH-YING+&submit=&patents_us=on |title=Search results: LEE; SHIH-YING |work=freepatentsonline.com |accessdate=2023-12-11}}

Lee founded or co-founded several companies specialized in process control and hydrodynamic instruments. Lee co-founded Dynisco Inc. and Setra Systems Inc.{{cite web|url=http://www.setra.com/aboutus/aboutus_history.htm |title=History of Setra |publisher=Setra Systems Inc. |accessdate=Dec 19, 2011}} with his brother Y. T. Li, and was chairman of the company. He donated funds to establish the Shih-Ying Lee Scholarship at Tsinghua. He died in July 2018 at the age of 100.{{Cite web|url=https://news.mit.edu/2018/mit-shih-ying-lee-mechanical-engineering-professor-inventor-entrepreneur-dies-0830|title=Shih-Ying Lee, longtime mechanical engineering professor, inventor, and entrepreneur, dies at 100|website=MIT News|date=30 August 2018 |access-date=August 31, 2018}}