Professor Lee graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering in 1968, and a Master degree in 1970. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 1972, in the field of geotechnical engineering. He taught at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto, before starting a long career with Ontario Hydro in Canada, where he worked on a variety of projects that included water resources management, hydropower and nuclear power. He joined the University of Hong Kong in 1994 as a professor of the Department of Civil Engineering, and successively as chair professor of geotechnical engineering, pro-vice-chancellor (vice-president) and director of the School of Professional and Continuing Education. He is now the Chancellor of the Chu Hai College of Higher Education.

He has published over 270 journal papers and 16 books, and has served as technical advisor to the World Bank, the United Nations Development Plan, the Asian Development Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Canadian International Development Agency over the years. He has also participated in the feasibility and design reviews of numerous water resources management, hydropower, nuclear power, bridge and other major infrastructure projects in China. He was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Science in 2001, and an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2003.

For volunteer and community services, he has served as the President of the Fuhui Charitable Foundation since 2003. The Foundation has donated towards the completion of some 360 schools and hospitals in the mountainous areas of Western China. It also supports about 2000 students of universities and teacher training colleges in such areas annually, through scholarships and bursaries. He is also the Chairman of the Board of the Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture; the Jao Tsung-I Academy Management Board; Director of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole; member of the Commission on Strategic Development; etc. He previously served as the Chairman of the Council of the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust; the Harbourfront Enhancement Committee and the Veterinary Surgeons Board and was a member of the Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Culture and Heritage Commission.

He was appointed a Justice-of-the Peace in 2003 and awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star and the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2005 and 2013 respectively. He was also a recipient of the K. Y. Lo Medal of the Engineering Institute of Canada in 2001; Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in 2005; Gold Medal of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers in 2008; Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012; as well as honorary doctor of science degrees from the University of Western Ontario (2006), Plymouth University (2012), Edinburgh Napier University (2012) and the University of Macau (2014).