To: Senior Administrators and PSD Community Members
From: Paul Alivisatos, President, and Katherine Baicker, Provost
Subject: Announcing the Dean of the PSD
Date: March 12, 2026
We are pleased to announce that Ka Yee C. Lee has been appointed dean of the Physical Sciences Division, following two years of dedicated and effective service as interim dean. A distinguished scholar, educator, and academic leader, Ka Yee brings an exceptional record of research achievement and institutional leadership to the role.
In her tenure as interim dean, Ka Yee has helped recruit nearly two dozen eminent new faculty across all parts of the division. Notably, over the past two years, she has doubled fundraising, working tirelessly to champion the division and its priorities. In particular, her fundraising efforts helped secure a sizable endowment to fully support the Lienweber Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Chicago, and she has been successful in fundraising for new space for data science initiatives. She has also helped shepherd distinctive new master’s degree programs at PSD that have expanded the reach of the division’s educational mission. It is clear to us that there is no better individual to lead the PSD, and we are thrilled to be her partners in advancing the physical sciences at the University.
An internationally recognized scientist, Ka Yee is the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Chemistry, the James Franck Institute, the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, and the College. Her service extends across the University and beyond. Ka Yee’s accomplishments are many—and may be well familiar to you. Over the course of her career, she has received numerous honors, including recognition as a Searle Scholar, a David and Lucile Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering, and a Sloan Research Fellow. She is an elected member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a fellow of the Biophysical Society, and a fellow of the American Physical Society.
Ka Yee’s commitments to students and to the academic community are equally evident. Prior to serving as interim dean, Ka Yee held several senior leadership roles at the University, including provost, vice provost for research, director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, and associate director of the James Franck Institute. A champion of international collaboration, she served the inaugural chair of the Faculty Advisory Board for The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex | University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong. Taken together, these accomplishments underscore the breadth of her contributions across the mission of the PSD and the University.
This is an important time for the Physical Sciences Division and the critical role it plays for the University’s research and educational mission. Ka Yee will be making faculty appointments to inform the academic direction that supports the thriving of all physical sciences disciplines. This effort will dovetail with extensive work over the last year by a faculty committee and ongoing discussion with the faculty Council, including discussion of the potential formation of a new academic unit. You will hear more about these appointments soon.
We thank the faculty search committee who worked diligently over the last several months. We are grateful to Ka Yee for her leadership as interim dean, and we look forward to her ambitious advancement of the PSD and continued partnership as dean of the Physical Sciences Division.