In 1965, he moved to the United States for his graduate studies and then got a PhD in biochemistry. He then went to Connecticut to work and excelled at it right from the start. Many cases he worked on are now textbook examples, like the Helle Crafts Woodchipper case, in which Lee's team outsmarted a CIA official who had tricked a polygraph test twice, by finding evidence against him from the scene of the crime.

"My biggest achievement from the many years of work is ... making forensic science the most reliable way of crime investigation, upgrading its significance a notch," Lee says. "In the US as in China, it was inquisition that made the case before forensics came along."

Lee would attribute his feat mostly to science, but he says his Chinese personality also helped.

"I have typical Chinese characteristics, I'm nice to people and very patient," Lee says, adding that he "likes to find things out down to the very bottom".

Although known for high-profile cases, Lee says the cases that moved him most were often those involving innocent elderly victims or cases that had gone cold.

"Dead men can't talk - with forensic science, we speak for them," he says.

The families of victims of crime hang onto such cases for years in the hopes of finding justice.

"Cracking those sometimes means fulfilling one's lifelong wishes."

He is now the chair professor at University of New Haven's Forensic Research Training Center, which he founded in 1998. He works 16 hours a day and while recused from active crime cases, he writes, teaches, advises and cracks cold cases with his team.

Lee lives in Connecticut with his wife Margaret. He comes to China often for the TV show as well as for lectures and training sessions with police. In 1999, the central government awarded him the Friendship Award, the top China honor for foreigners who substantially contribute to the country's advancement in various fields.

"Dr Lee gives you a sense of justice and steadiness," says Wakin Chau, a Chinese singer and fellow judge on the CCTV show.

sunye@chinadaily.com.cn