About
Sheng-Hung Lee, PhD, is a designer and engineer whose work integrates design, technology, and systems thinking to address complex societal challenges. He serves as an assistant professor in the Urban Technology program at the University of Michigan, focusing on urban systems, service innovation, and Design for Longevity (D4L). Lee’s research investigates how individuals and systems co-navigate life transitions across services. His doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) proposed a hybrid framework that integrates constructivist grounded theory, causal loop diagrams, and design ethnography to explore behavioral and systemic dynamics in longevity planning.
An active leader in the global design community, Lee has served as a Board Director for the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) since 2020 and joined the World Design Organization (WDO) Education Committee in 2023. He was Guest Editor of DIID Journal No. 84 and served as Track Co-Chair for the 2024 Design Research Society (DRS) Conference in Boston. He has also juried major international competitions including the IDEA, Spark, IDA, Golden Pin, and A’ Design Awards. His work has been recognized with numerous international honors—including IDEA Gold, iF Gold, Braun Prize, and Red Dot Best of the Best—and exhibited globally at venues such as Dubai Design Week, Venice Design Week, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. He has held visiting and adjunct teaching positions in Hungary, Germany, China, and Taiwan, advancing service and system design education.
At MIT, he was affiliated with the AgeLab and Ideation Lab, co-taught courses including Global Aging & the Built Environment, and contributed to MIT xPRO, the MIT Office of Sustainability, and the MIT Governance Lab as a strategist and curriculum designer. Lee holds a PhD in human behavior and service design from MIT, two MS degrees in mechanical engineering and engineering management from MIT, and two BS degrees in industrial design and electrical engineering from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan.
