Prof. Ricky LEE Awarded Prestigious 2026 IEEE Rao R. Tummala Electronics Packaging Award for Outstanding Contributions to Electronic Packaging

Prof. Ricky LEE Shi-Wei, Visiting Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Dean of Systems Hub and Chair Professor of Smart Manufacturing Thrust and Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering Thrust at HKUST (Guangzhou), has been selected to receive the prestigious 2026 IEEE Rao R. Tummala Electronics Packaging Award. Prof. Lee was cited “for contributions through research on lead-free soldering reliability and promoting the globalization of electronics packaging”.

Established in 2002, the IEEE Rao R. Tummala Electronics Packaging Award recognizes outstanding contributions to advancing components, electronic packaging, or manufacturing technologies. It is one of the IEEE Technical Field Awards, which are institution-level awards and considered the most prestigious awards in IEEE (along with IEEE Medals and IEEE Recognitions).

The technical field for this award encompasses all aspects of device and systems packaging, including packaging of microelectronics, optoelectronics, RF/wireless, and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). The award will be presented at the IEEE 76th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, to be held in San Diego, California in May 2026. A keynote address will be delivered by Prof. Lee in this flagship conference of electronics packaging.

“This IEEE Technical Field Award is the ultimate recognition of my decades of dedication to electronics packaging. I am indebted to many people (including professional peers, HKUST colleagues and former students) and lab facilities at HKUST. Without their invaluable and long-lasting supports, I won’t be able to achieve what I have done,” said Prof. Lee.

Prof. Lee received his PhD degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University in 1992 and joined HKUST in 1993. He has been focusing his research on the technology development for electronics/optoelectronics packaging and additive manufacturing. The topics of his R&D interests include wafer level packaging and heterogeneous integration, 3D printing for microsystems packaging, LED packaging for solid-state lighting and applications beyond lighting, lead-free soldering and reliability analysis.

The research outcomes of Prof. Lee’s group have been documented in numerous technical papers in international journals and conference proceedings. He also co-authored four books and 10 book chapters. Due to his technical contributions, he received many honors and awards over the years. In addition to being the recipient of 10 best/outstanding paper awards and seven major professional society awards, he is a Fellow of IEEE, ASME, IMAPS, and Institute of Physics (UK).