A great scientist, teacher and friend

Dear Noriko, Maya, Yuma and Abi,

 

Like others, I am absolutely shocked and saddened by the news. The last time I spoke with Ellis was just before Christmas when we discussed a paper we were working on and the PhD projects that we were going to supervise. Ellis also shared his long holiday plans. We were supposed to meet again last week. He was full of life. But life is so fragile and unpredictable.

 

It was a great privilege to have known Ellis for over fifteen years, first from his excellent scientific work, and then as prominent member of Nanocem and in recent years as visiting professor and colleague at Imperial College London. I had such a great time working with him. He gave very well attended lectures and co-supervised research students at Imperial. He was a dedicated teacher and very popular with students. They appreciated his friendly and relaxed manner, his vast knowledge and experience. I also thought that Ellis enjoyed interacting with students and the contributions he made at Imperial.

 

I will always treasure the long lunches and coffee breaks I had with Ellis. Of course we talked about science, the experiments we were going to do to test his new C-S-H theory and MgO cements. But we always digressed to other interesting things. I will miss his great sense of humour and pragmatic view of the world. I will also miss his warmth and generosity. His willingness to share knowledge and time. His honest views and frank assessments. Beyond scientific pursuits, he loved travelling and had a great passion for music. I know he was very happy to be able to travel more during retirement and to spend quality time with family. Through our many conversations, I also caught glimpses of a man who was entirely caring, affectionate and devoted to his family, and extremely proud of his children’s achievements.  

 

I will always value the time I spent with Ellis. He was an exceptional man, a brilliant scientist and a thoroughly nice guy. Ellis was an inspiration to many of us, a great mentor to many younger scientists like myself. He will be sorely missed.

 

My thoughts and condolences are with you and everyone who knew him.

 

Hong S Wong

Imperial College London