Yuan Tseh Lee

Biography

Abstract

Yuan Tseh Lee is the first Taiwanese Nobel Prize laureate when he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986 with Dudley Herschbach and John Polanyi. His work relates to the use of advanced chemical kinetics techniques to investigate and manipulate the behavior of chemical reactions using crossed molecular beams. He has held positions at University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, and Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Important Dates

November 19, 1936Birth, Hsinchu City (Taiwan).

1959Obtained BS in Chemistry, National Taiwan University (Guo li Taiwan da xue), Taipei (Taiwan).

1961Obtained MS, National Tsing Hua University (Guo li qing hua da xue), Hsinchu City (Taiwan).

1965Obtained PhD, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley (Calif.).

1965 – 1967Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley (Calif.).

1967 – 1968Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, Harvard University.

1968 – 1974Assistant Professor (1968-1971); Associate Professor (1971-1973); and Professor (1973-1974), Department of Chemistry and James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1969 – 1971Alfred P. Sloan Fellow.

1974Became American citizen.

1974 – 1994Principal Investigator, Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley (Calif.).

1974 – 1997Professor of Chemistry (1974-1991); Miller Professorship (1981-1982); University Professor (1991-1994); Professor Emeritus (1994); and Graduate Professor (1994-1997), Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley (Calif.).

1975Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Science.

1976Fellow, American Physical Society.

1976 – 1977John Simon Guggenheim Fellow.

1979Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1980Honorary Professor, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science (Zhongguo ke xue yuan).

1980Honorary Professor, Fudan University (Fu dan da xue (Shanghai, China)).

1980Member, Academia Sinica (Zhong yang yan jiu yuan), Taipei (Taiwan).

1981Awarded Ernest O. Lawrence Award, United States Department of Energy.

1983Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar, California Institute of Technology.

1983Awarded Harrison Howe Award, Rochester Section, American Chemical Society.

1986Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Dudley R. Herschbach and John C. Polanyi “for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes”.

1986Awarded Peter Debye Award of Physical Chemistry, American Chemical Society.

1986Awarded National Medal of Science.

1986Honorary Professor, Chinese University of Science and Technology (Zhongguo ke xue ji shu da xue).

1992Awarded Faraday Lectureship Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry.

1994 – presentDistinguished Research Fellow (1994-2015); President (1994-2006) and President Emeritus (2006-present), Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica (Zhong yang yan jiu yuan), Taipei (Taiwan).

2008Awarded Othmer Gold Medal, Chemical Heritage Foundation.

2011 – 2014President, International Council for Science (ICSU).

Occupation

Physical chemist.

Places

Birth

Hsinchu City (Taiwan)

Undergraduate Education

Taipei (Taiwan)

Graduate Education

Hsinchu City (Taiwan)

Berkeley (Calif.)

Employment

Chicago (Ill.)

Berkeley (Calif.)

Taipei (Taiwan)

Subjects

Chemical reactions.

Physical chemistry.

Relationships

People

Family

Lee, Chi-Mei

Sister.

Lee, Y. C. (Yuan Chuan)

Brother.

Lee, Yuan-Pern

Brother.

Advisors & Collaborators

Herschbach, Dudley R.

Advisor at Harvard University. Shared 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Lee and Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes."

Mahan, Bruce H.

PhD advisor at University of California, Berkeley.

Polanyi, J. C., 1929-

Shared 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Lee and Herschbach "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes."

Colleagues

Alivisatos, P.

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Bucksbaum, Philip H.

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Ceperley, David

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Chandler, David, 1944-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Clarke, John, 1942-

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Clauser, John F. (John Francis), 1942-

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Cohen, Marvin L.

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Diamond, R. M.

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Drell, Persis S.

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Giauque, William F. (William Francis), 1895-1982

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Gomer, R. (Robert)

Both employed at University of Chicago, James Franck Institute.

Grunder, Hermann

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Lyneis, Claude, 1943-

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Nagamiya, S. (Shoji)

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Nygren, David R.

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Oddone, Piermaria J.

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Perlman, Isadore

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Perlman, Isadore

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Perlmutter, Saul

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Poskanzer, A. M. (Arthur M.), 1931-

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Randall, Lisa

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Rosenfeld, Arthur H., 1926-

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Seaborg, Glenn T. (Glenn Theodore), 1912-1999

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley.

Sessler, A. M. (Andrew Marienhoff)

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Shank, C. V. (Charles V.)

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Shirley, David Arthur, 1934-

Both employed at University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Smalley, Richard E.

Both employed at University of Chicago, James Franck Institute.

Smith, Neville, 1942-2006

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Stephens, F. S. (Frank Samuel)

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Trilling, George H.

Both employed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Turkevich, Anthony, 1916-2002

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Institutions

Major Positions

Harvard University. Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Postdoctoral Fellow.

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Postdoctoral Fellow and Principal Investigator, Chemical Sciences Division.

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Chemistry

Obtained PhD (1965). Postdoctoral Fellow; Professor of Chemistry; Miller Professorship; University Professor; Professor Emeritus; and Graduate Professor.

University of Chicago. Department of Chemistry

Assistant Professor; Associate Professor; and Professor.

University of Chicago. James Franck Institute

Assistant Professor; Associate Professor; and Professor.

Zhong yang yan jiu yuan

Member; Distinguished Research Fellow; President; and President Emeritus, Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Fellow.

American Chemical Society

Awarded 1983 Harrison Howe Award and 1986 Peter Debye Award of Physical Chemistry.

American Physical Society

Fellow.

California Institute of Technology

Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar.

Chemical Heritage Foundation

Awarded 2008 Othmer Gold Medal.

Fu dan da xue (Shanghai, China)

Honorary Professor.

Guo li qing hua da xue (Hsinchu City, Taiwan)

Obtained MS (1961).

Guo li Taiwan da xue

Obtained BS in Chemistry (1959).

International Council for Science

President.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Royal Society of Chemistry (Great Britain)

Awarded 1992 Faraday Lectureship Prize.

United States. Department of Energy

Awarded 1981 Ernest O. Lawrence Award.

Zhongguo ke xue ji shu da xue

Honorary Professor.

Zhongguo ke xue yuan

Honorary Professor, Institute of Chemistry.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Yuan T. Lee papers, circa 1964-1993.

University Research Library. Department of Special Collections

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA 90024-1575, USA

Subject

Oral history interview with Dudley Herschbach, 2003 May 21 and 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Subject

Yuan Tseh Lee Nobel Prize biography.