Alan John Clive Lee (18 February 1939 – 2 November 2021) was a British design engineer known for co-creating the Exeter hip system in association with orthopaedic surgeon,

Robin Ling Robin Sydney Mackwood Ling, (7 September 1927 – 9 October 2017) was an English surgeon who invented the Exeter hip system, a hip replacement. As an orthopaedic surgeon at the Princess Elizabeth orthopaedic hospital, Exeter, he co-operated wi ...

. Unlike any other hip replacement, the collarless polished tapered cemented hip stem became the most widely used cemented total hip joint in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

Early life

Clive Lee was born in February 1939. He was schooled in

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe ...

, England. Whilst working as an apprentice for

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated ...

, he studied mechanical engineering at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

, subsequently receiving a first class honours degree in 1961.

Career

In 1966, Lee was appointed assistant lecturer at

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

. He went on to become fellow in the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics in Exeter. He has published widely in academic British and international journals. In 2020, Lee was made a Professor by the University of Exeter. ''"We were proud to name the hip after Exeter as so many people in the University and the hospital were instrumental in its development. We had significant technical and other support from the University's former department of Engineering Science.... Still the biggest pleasure for me is when people who have had replacement hips come up to me and thank me for changing their lives."'' - quoted by Lee sometime after 2010. In 2010, the millionth Exeter hip was implanted. It became the most widely used hip replacement worldwide.

Personal life

Lee lived in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

with his wife, Pamela. They had two children; a son and a daughter. Both graduated from the

in engineering disciplines. He died on 2 November 2021, at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Clive 1939 births 2021 deaths Academics of the University of Exeter Alumni of the University of Nottingham English engineers People from Solihull