[7][8] He was an expert on the application of personal computers on monitoring seismic events, as the "Willie Lee System" of recording seismic networks on computers is named for him.

[9] A book he was first author on, International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, received multiple scholarly reviews.

[10] During his life, he held many posts within IASPEI,[11] including on the Commission on Practice in the late 1980s,[12] which included serving as chair of the Working Group on Personal Computers during the year 1989.

[13][14] He was also the editor of the IASPEI Software Library, published in multiple volumes from 1989–93 and chairman of the Committee on Education from 1995–2001.

[17] Lee joined the Geological Survey in 1967,[18] and retired to become a Scientist Emeritus around 1995–96.