Milton L. Lee, Ph.D.

Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder

During his nearly 45-year career, Dr. Lee has become one of the world’s foremost experts in separation science, while also becoming a serial inventor and entrepreneur. Most recently, he invented the world’s first portable gradient capillary high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC), the Axcend Focus LC® from Axcend®. Previously, he also invented and commercialized three other scientific instruments:

  • a supercritical fluid chromatograph (Lee Scientific);
  • a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Sensar); and
  • a portable gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (Torion).

Dr. Lee has authored/co-authored over 590 scientific publications, delivered over 500 technical present­a­tions and has over 20 patents to his credit. Additionally, he has received over 25 prestigious industry awards/recognitions during his 40-plus years as a professor at Brigham Young University. Dr. Lee received a doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University, a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Utah, and completed post-doctoral research in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.