Mak Pui In, director of the State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, deputy director of the Institute of Microelectronics, and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Macau (UM), has been elected as a foreign corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon (Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, ACL), Portugal. He is also the first foreign corresponding member of the academy who was born and educated in Macao. This honour not only recognises Mak’s outstanding achievements in scientific research, but also helps strengthen the academic cooperation between Macao and Portugal.

Founded in 1779, ACL is one of the oldest and most prestigious academies in the world and is dedicated to the advancement of sciences and learning. The academy is a founding member of the International Council for Science (now known as the International Science Council) and a member of the European Science Foundation. Mak was elected to the position upon nomination by Rui Martins, vice rector of UM and permanent member of ACL. Both Mak and Martins are delighted with the announcement and believe that it will help strengthen the cooperation between institutions in Macao and Portugal.

Born and raised in Macao, Mak received his bachelor’s and PhD degrees from UM. Over the past two decades, he has focused on research on analogue and radio frequency integrated circuit design, interdisciplinary science, and engineering innovation. With high recognition both nationally and internationally, he was elected as an overseas expert of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in 2018, a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2019, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in 2020. In 2018, he founded Digifluidic Biotech Ltd, the first spin-off company of UM. The company’s flagship product, Virus Hunter, has entered into the markets for rapid tests and food safety testing.

In addition, Mak was awarded the Tencent Xplorer Prize in 2022 for his research on battery-less smart electronics, becoming the first Macao researcher to receive the award. He is currently the editor-in-chief of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Letters, a prestigious journal in the field of electronics. He has also held several leading positions in the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society.