Dr. Ben Lee

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Benjamin Charles Germain Lee is an incoming Assistant Professor at the Information School at the University of Washington, starting in Autumn 2024, where he will lead the Lab for Computing Cultural Heritage. His research focuses on reimagining search capabilities to interpret cultural heritage collections through machine learning techniques. The central goals of his research include developing large-scale search and discovery systems for digitized and born-digital collections, leveraging these systems to advance research in digital humanities and cultural heritage, and studying the ethical and sociotechnical implications of applying machine learning in these contexts. Lee is currently a Kluge Fellow in Digital Studies at the Library of Congress and has worked on the Web Archiving Team. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Washington, where he developed the Newspaper Navigator, a machine learning-based system for searching text and images across 16.3 million historical newspaper articles. He has held several prestigious fellowships, including roles at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Harvard University. Lee is the General Editor of Digital Humanities Quarterly and has had public writings published in various notable outlets.

Research Interests

Awards

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Digital Humanities Dataset

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Resource Paper

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summa cum laude

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Thomas T. Hoopes Prize

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John Harvard Scholar

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Phi Beta Kappa

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Herchel Smith Harvard Undergraduate Science Research Fellow

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Philip Hofer Prize Collecting Books Art

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National Merit Scholarship

Requirements for University of Washington

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Total
Required:80
IELTS
Overall
Required:6.5
Duolingo
Overall Score
Required:105
Overall
Required:105
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Transcripts
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Resume/CV
  • English proficiency scores (for international students)
Specialization Notes

Standard Graduate School requirements for University of Washington apply to most departments listed unless specified otherwise by the program.