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Joseph Hun-wei Lee ( is a Hong Kong civil engineering professor specialized in environmental hydraulics. He is internationally recognized for his work on hydraulic engineering, including the theory and environmental application of buoyant jets, water quality modelling and forecast, and stormwater drainage design. He is currently the President of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) and the Chairman of Hong Kong Research Grant Council (RGC).

Education
Joseph Lee obtained his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during 1969-1977. He obtained his PhD in field of Civil Engineering under the supervision of Donald R. F. Harleman, and Dr. Gerhard H. Jirka in 1977 with the thesis title: Modelling of unidirectional thermal diffusers in shallow water.

Academic Career
Joseph 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.

He is currently the Senior Advisor to the President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Senior Member, HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study.

Highlight of Achievements
Joseph Lee pioneered for the theoretical modelling and engineering prediction of the mixing and dilution of a turbulent buoyant jet in an ambient current. In the 1990’s, he developed the Lagrangian integral jet model - JETLAG (ref), the first engineering model which robustly predicts the 3D trajectory and the initial dilution of an arbitrarily inclined buoyant jet in stratified ambient current. Integrating JETLAG with computer graphics and 3D visualization, he developed the VISJET software (figure/animation) which has been used internationally for the design and optimization of marine outfall for wastewater discharge. His work on buoyant jet theory has also been applied to unravel the transmission and spreading mechanisms of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Amoy Garden, Hong Kong in 2003 [ref], and the hydraulic design of the Yuen Long Bypass Floodway.

Joseph Lee is also a pioneer in the modelling and forecast of algal blooms from an engineering perspective, for the sustainable management of marine fish farming. For the first-time, he developed a real-time water quality telemetry system [ref], successfully tracked a number of red tides in Hong Kong and elucidated the governing hydrodynamic and biological factors behind algal blooms. He proposed a vertical stability theory [refs] which predicts the necessary condition for algal blooms – a stable water column with sufficient nutrient level promotes the explosive growth of phytoplankton. Coupling water quality and hydrodynamic models on the scale of flushing time, he developed a framework to evaluate the carrying capacity of marine fish farms [ref]. His work on the scientific management of mariculture has been recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and endorsed by the Hong Kong Government [ref].

He masterminded the WATERMAN coastal management and forecast system (supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust 2008-2013)  which provides a scientific framework for the management of coastal water quality, including beach water quality forecast, mariculture management, red tide forecast, emergency response to accidental pollutions, and optimization of chlorine dosage in sewage disinfection.

In addition, he has contributed to the innovative and sustainable urban drainage design, including the Yuen Long Bypass Floodway and Tai Hang Tung Storage Scheme in Hong Kong. His design theory of supercritical vortex intake has been used in the design of Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel and urban drainage infrastructures in other megacities in the world.

Honours and Awards

 * Senior Research Fellowship Award of the Croucher Foundation (1998),
 * Innovation Award for Construction Industry of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (2002)
 * 2010 China State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (Second Class, Principal Investigator),
 * 2013 Karl Emil Hilgard Hydraulic Prize of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), * 2017 Innovation Award (First Prize, Sustainability) of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council.
 * ASCE Hunter Rouse Hydraulic Engineering Award (2009).
 * Fellow, Royal Academy of Engineering, United Kingdom (elected in 2008)
 * Fellow, Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (elected in 2002)
 * Honorary Membership, the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) in 2015.
 * Honorary Professor of Nankai University
 * Advisory Professor of Hohai University

Books
Turbulent jets and plumes - a Lagrangian approach (with V.H. Chu), Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003, 390 pp. (ISBN 1-4020-7520-0).

River Dynamics and Integrated River Management (with Z.Y. Wang and C.S. Melching), Springer, 2015, 600 pp.

In 2007 as founding Chief Editor he led the launch of the Elsevier Journal of Hydro-environment Research (JHER). – which gained SCI journal status within 3 years.

Media Featuring
Joseph Lee’s work on environmental hydraulics is featured in a 2017 Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) production: Travelling with Water - Joseph LEE (I), and Travelling with Water - Joseph LEE (II).

External roles

 * Chairman of the Assessment Panel of the Hong Kong Public Policy Research Scheme
 * Member of the Aviation Development and Three-runway System Advisory Committee of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
 * Independent expert in the Tai Po Sha Po Tsai Village Debris Flood (2010)
 * Independent expert in the Commission of Inquiry into Excess Lead Found in Drinking Water (2015).