William Chien-Yeh Lee

A graveside service for William will be held Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 3PM at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Dr. William C. Y. Lee, a pioneering engineer and visionary in wireless communications, passed away on April 7, 2025, at the age of 92. Widely regarded as one of the founding figures of modern mobile technology, Dr. Lee held 37 U.S. patents and authored over 200 technical papers and several foundational textbooks that helped shape the wireless industry.

Born in London in 1932, and raised in China and Taiwan, Dr. Lee earned his B.S. from the Taiwan Naval Academy before immigrating to the United States with determination and just a few dollars in his pocket. He earned both his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University and went on to a storied career at Bell Labs, where he helped develop AMPS—the first-generation cellular system—and created the widely used Lee propagation models.

He later led mobile projects at ITT and served as Chief Scientist and Vice President at PacTel (later Vodafone AirTouch), where he significantly advanced wireless network capacity and oversaw the first commercial CDMA system. He was instrumental in shaping U.S. wireless standards as co-chair of CTIA’s ARTS Committee and played a key role in the global adoption of CDMA, including its introduction in Korea.

Dr. Lee served on numerous national science and technology councils, was named an IEEE Fellow, and received many prestigious honors, including the IEEE VTS Avant Garde Award, the CDMA Industry Achievement Award, and the IEEE VTS Hall of Fame Award in 2014.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Margaret, daughters: Dr. Betty Lee (Andy Milder) and Dr. Lily Lee (Dr. Brian Jeffords); his two grandchildren Alex and Sophia Jeffords, brother Dr. Samuel Lee (Dr. Elisa Lee) and sisters Jane Chung (Dr. Ben Chung), Julie Wen (Gary Wen) and Wei-Min. A lifelong educator and mentor, Dr. Lee leaves behind a lasting legacy in both technology and the lives he touched around the world.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Learning For All at www.golearnall.org.