RJ Lee Group
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Materials characterization, industrial forensics, consulting |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Richard J. Lee |
| Headquarters | Monroeville , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Richard J. Lee (CEO), Casey Bunker (COO) |
Number of employees | 300+ |
RJ Lee Group, Inc. is a laboratory specializing in materials characterization and a consulting firm focused on industrial forensics, employing more than 300 professionals including scientists, engineers, technicians, and support personnel at its facilities in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and Pasco, Washington. Established by Richard J. Lee in 1980, the company’s expertise spans analytical laboratory testing, failure analysis and industrial forensics consultation, litigation assistance, and laboratory informatics solutions.
Serving a wide range of sectors, RJ Lee Group delivers scientific laboratory services and develops forensic software tools tailored for criminal investigations and law enforcement agencies. Their flagship products—IntelliSEM, ParticleID, and SEAMS—significantly enhance their forensic analysis capabilities. The organization is currently managed by CEO Richard J. Lee alongside COO Casey Bunker.
History
Energy Technology Consultants (ETC) was founded in the early 1980s by staff from the U.S. Steel Technical Center located in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. The firm focused on advancing methods to evaluate air quality, utilizing leased time on electron microscopes at the U.S. Steel site to develop techniques for identifying distinct air quality signatures. In 1985, Dr. Lee acquired an ownership stake and moved the enterprise to the Bituminous Coal Research facility in Monroeville. The following year, Dr. Lee launched RJ Lee Group, Inc., which secured its inaugural litigation assignment within six months by applying transmission electron microscopy to study asbestos particles in air samples.
By the end of the 1980s, RJ Lee Group had innovated computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM) technology to detect, quantify, and characterize airborne particulate matter. Presently, RJ Lee Group functions as a comprehensive industrial forensic laboratory and consulting entity with expertise across multiple industries. The company is also advancing its software development efforts while addressing modern environmental issues such as those emerging from nanotechnology applications.
Scientific firsts
RJ Lee Group was instrumental in developing CCSEM technology by combining a scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and advanced software intelligence. In partnership with Iowa State University, they created WebSEM, an online platform allowing K-12 students to perform SEM analyses remotely. Additionally, they introduced a novel low-energy pyrolysis technique for hydrocarbon materials utilizing clay and metal catalysts. Collaborating with Carnegie Mellon University and US Steel through funding from the US Department of Energy, RJ Lee Group developed the Automated Steel Cleanliness Analysis Tool (ASCAT), which leverages CCSEM to rapidly analyze hundreds of metal inclusions within an hour.
Noteworthy projects
RJ Lee Group played a vital role as consultants for the EPA Region 2 during air quality assessments conducted in Lower Manhattan buildings impacted by the 9/11. Their responsibilities included overseeing building remediation sampling, performing laboratory analyses, and managing programs related to health, safety, and community air monitoring.
The company also contributed environmental impact evaluations and control measures following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco, California.
Furthermore, RJ Lee Group supported EPA inquiries into potential tremolite asbestos emissions originating from New Jersey’s Southdown Quarry and conducted air quality monitoring associated with the train derailment incident in East Palestine, Ohio.