He received the IEEE Edison Medal for "the development and operation of electric central stations for illumination and power.

In 1877, Lieb and some classmate helped install a Brush arc light system on the Coney Island Pier.

Lieb was hired as a draftsman for the Brush Electric Company, but soon was trained to become a manager and conductor at a central station.

Lieb was assigned to Edison's office in New York City, where he also worked as a draftsman in the engineering department.

When Italian Giuseppe Colombo visited the Edison Machine Works site to observe tests for dynamos for a station in Milan, he became impressed with Lieb.

While in Italy, Lieb ran experiments with direct driven alternators connected in parallel, and also installed Thomson-Houston arc lighting for the streets in the city.

In 1923 Lieb won the Edison Medal from AIEE "For the development and operation of electric central stations for illumination and power."

During his time in Italy he became a member of Raccolta Vinciana of Milan, and continued to pursue his interest in Leonardo da Vinci by collecting a large library of his work.