With great sadness, we announce the death of Dr Terrence Mak on 22 December 2024. Dr Terrence Mak was an associate professor in the Cyber-Physical Systems Research Group and an esteemed colleague in ECS at the University for over nine years.
Terrence lived an accomplished life despite carrying the burden of brain cancer for the past 11 years. He passed away peacefully at St. Michael’s Hospice, surrounded by his loved ones. Terrence leaves behind his devoted wife, Ophelia, and two young children.
He obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was awarded the Croucher Foundation Scholarship and moved to England for his PhD at Imperial College London. After graduating in 2009, Terrence became a lecturer at Newcastle University, where he quickly and successfully developed into an internationally recognised research leader, supervising PhD students and initiating ambitious research projects involving academia and industry across the globe.
In 2012, Terrence moved back to Hong Kong 2012 to join the Chinese University of Hong Kong as an assistant professor. Sadly, he was diagnosed with brain tumours in 2013. After recovering from a major brain surgery and a year of treatment, he marched on with life and his career with passion and optimism. He was also deeply passionate about giving back to society, dedicating his vacations to visiting remote villages in mainland China, where he shared computer knowledge with teachers and students in underprivileged schools. In 2015, Terrence relocated with his family to England for the third time and joined the University of Southampton.
Terrence was a highly respected researcher in the field of computer architecture, with a particular focus on the design and optimisation of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) systems. His innovative work on 3D-integrated circuits, network-on-chip, and wireless-on-chip significantly advanced the field.
A dedicated educator, he inspired and mentored numerous students, emphasising the importance of resourcefulness, independent thinking, and collaborative research. He consistently encouraged his students to strive for excellence and build strong professional networks.
Dr Mak’s work received six Best Paper Awards from prestigious conferences, two US patents, the IET Premium Yearly Best Paper Award for CDT in 2013, and the prestigious 2015 IET CDT Premium Award. He published over 150 academic papers in leading journals and conferences, including a paper selected as “Top 25 Downloaded Manuscript” in 2015 by IEEE Transactions. He also jointly published four books.
Terrence’s passion for research and dedication to his students will be deeply missed by his colleagues in ECS and the University of Southampton.