University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering

Shung-Wu Lee

[title]
To Shung-Wu Lee for contributions to antennas and electromagnetic scattering and to the design of frequency selective surfaces for stealth technology.

Professor Emeritus, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • BS, 1961, Electrical Engineering, Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
  • MS, 1964, Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • PhD, 1966, Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 Shung-Wu (Andy) Lee has had an exceptionally distinguished career as a teacher, researcher, and entrepreneur. He made many contributions to antenna design and coedited the four-volume Antenna Handbook, regarded as the standard for antenna engineers. In the 1980s, he began research on electromagnetic scattering. Lee developed a computational technique for the efficient calculation of radar signatures of complex objects, such as aircraft. This technique was developed into a computer code called Xpatch, which is widely used in the defense community for identifying air and ground targets. The demand from industry for Xpatch grew so rapidly that Lee and his wife, Emmie Lee-Fisher, formed the company DEMACO. In 1995, Lee retired from the university to devote himself full time to the company. Scientific Applications International Corporation purchased DEMACO in 1998.

Lee also made a major research contribution in the area of frequency selective surfaces (FSS). These surfaces absorb or scatter electromagnetic radiation at radar frequencies and are an integral part of the stealth technology now successfully used by the military. The nose cone of Lockheed’s F-22 fighter airplane is made of FSS and was designed using Lee’s innovation and his computer software. At the university, Lee was regarded by students and faculty members as an outstanding teacher and received the Everitt Award for Teaching Excellence in 1968. Lee is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Other recognition includes the Hughes Division Invention Award in 1970, Lockheed Million Dollar Award in 1973, NASA Certificates of Recognition in 1993, ECE Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999, and an award from the Air Force Research Laboratory in recognition of “the visionary creator of the best-of-breed 3D computational electromagnetics technologies” in 1999. In 2000, Lee was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Current as of 2002.