CEEE Postdoctoral Researcher Cheng-Yi Lee Heads On to Industry Job

The Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE) bids a fond farewell to postdoctoral researcher Cheng-Yi Lee, who will be starting a new job as an advanced R&D engineer/scientist with technology company Honeywell in Buffalo, New York. Lee will continue to focus on the research and development of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) technologies, building on the expertise he has developed during his six years at CEEE.

Lee joined CEEE in 2019 as a Ph.D. student, having already earned a master’s in mechanical engineering from Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University and worked for several years in industry. For his doctoral dissertation in 2024, he developed a novel way to improve compressor efficiency and lower energy consumption in cooling and refrigeration systems by innovating a near-isothermal compressor utilizing a liquid piston for the transcritical CO2 cycle. The research was completed under the guidance of former CEEE Director Reinhard Radermacher and Research Professor Yunho Hwang.

After earning his Ph.D, Lee moved into a leadership role with the center as a postdoctoral researcher. He was an integral part of CEEE’s Consortium for Energy Efficiency and Heat Pumps, contributing to a variety of projects to make HVAC and heat pump technologies more efficient, affordable and sustainable.

“My time at CEEE taught me the value of resilience,” Lee says. “During the course of multiple experimental and modeling projects, things rarely worked perfectly the first time – the system leaked, sensors failed or models diverged. Learning to diagnose problems systematically, stay calm under pressure and adapt my approach until the system performed as intended was critical.

“I also learned the importance of maintaining an eagerness to achieve challenging goals. Even when targets seemed impossible, approaching them with curiosity, courage and determination often led to unexpected breakthroughs.”

We can’t wait to see what breakthroughs Lee will contribute to next as he heads on to this new stage of his career!

Published October 27, 2025