Meet Our Experts: 5 Minutes with Chris Lee

Chris Lee began his career as an R&D engineer at Makino Asia, designing mechanical components for milling machines. He then spent over a decade in public service across defense, aviation, environment, and IT sectors, focusing on industry development and technology adoption. After working at a blockchain startup, he joined Thales and later CAAS, where he established a $200 million research fund and helped create ATMRI at NTU.

Co-Founding AIR Lab

In 2019, Lee co-founded AIR Lab with colleagues Herve and Hugh, taking charge of partnership development. He emphasizes that “AIR Lab’s DNA focuses on integrating open technologies into the ATM CONOPS to enable more possibilities”, enabling researchers to safely test advanced technologies in a controlled environment. He sees regional collaboration as central to AIR Lab’s growth over the next three years.

AIR Lab integrates open technologies into ATM operations, providing a safe, controlled environment where researchers can test advanced solutions. By exposing capabilities through APIs, AIR Lab enables rapid experimentation with new use cases without the heavy integration typically required in safety-critical systems.

What Makes AIR Lab Work

AIR Lab’s success is driven by close collaboration with CAAS and a diverse team of over 50 engineers, developers, and air traffic controllers. Notable achievements include:

• CDO Advisory tool for greener aviation
• Secured data bridge for safe access to operational data
• ATM Twin with Open ATM APIs to support experimentation and integration

Building a High-Performing Team

AIR Lab has grown to over 50 staff, including engineers, developers, architects, and air traffic controllers. Its success is underpinned by an “agile, open, and collaborative” culture that encourages continuous idea exchange between technical teams and operational ATCOs.

Chris highlights the diversity of backgrounds — ranging from software engineers to licensed air traffic controllers — as a key strength. This mix ensures that innovation is grounded in operational reality from the outset.

Looking Ahead

AIR Lab is developing the Regional Experimental Platform, aimed at providing shared airspace awareness across regions. Lee underscores that innovation in safety-critical ATM domains must be pursued through careful, phased exploration using proof-of-concepts and open architecture methodologies, building trust with regulators and operators before any operational deployment.

“You don’t need to choose between moving fast and staying safe. The right architecture lets you do both.”