Ming-Tsan "Mike" Liu

Prof. Ming-Tsan (Mike) Liu entered into heavenly glory on May 5, 2026. He was preceded in death by his father Tu-Tian Liu, mother Ya Wang, elder brother Chin-Hui (Choe-Chiau Chen), elder sister Suh-Chin, and younger brother Yu-Chian (Camilla Hsu). He is survived by his wife Lily; children Milton, Andrew (Whitney), and Elsa; grandchildren Ava and Ethan; many nephews and nieces; and his 7 parakeets (affectionately known as his “grandbirds”).

Mike was born on August 30, 1934 in Pei-Kang (Beigang), Taiwan. He completed his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in 1957 at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, followed by two years of mandatory military service in the Taiwanese army. In 1960, he then came to the United States to study at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, where he received his M.S degree in 1961 and Ph.D. degree in 1964. After serving on the faculty at Penn for the following five years, he accepted a position in 1969 as a professor at The Ohio State University, where he was a founding member of the Department of Computer and Information Science.

During his tenure at Ohio State, he supervised 55 Ph.D. students, one of the highest totals in the university's history. Mike published more than 100 papers in top journals and for leading conferences, and was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by National Cheng Kung University in 1987 and the Distinguished Scholar Award by Ohio State in 1991. He retired in 2009 with the title of Emeritus Professor, and the Prof. Ming T. Liu Student Scholarship for Excellence Endowment was established in his honor. Since then, the fund has helped more than 100 students.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Mike made foundational contributions to computer architecture, distributed systems, and network protocols. In 1979, he founded the IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems, now one of the field’s premier conferences, and later co-founded the IEEE International Conference on Network Protocols. He was elevated to IEEE Fellow and received numerous honors, including the IEEE Third Millennium Medal and the IEEE Special Presidential Award. Beyond his research, he held many leadership roles within the IEEE Computer Society, including many years of service on the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB), where he was named a Fellow. Through his contributions, Mike helped shape the direction of computer science research and scholarship worldwide.

Wedded in 1966, Mike enjoyed a wonderful marriage with Lily for 60 years, and cherished spending time with his family. He was a member of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church for over 50 years, where he served as an elder. He was also devoted to his parakeets and cared for many over the years.

Mike had a deep, lifelong passion for classical music, as reflected in his vast collection of CDs and DVDs, and was also a longtime Ohio State football season ticket holder. He loved to travel, visiting all 50 states and 44 countries throughout his life. Additionally, he enjoyed photography, and generously shared that talent as the designated photographer and videographer at many events involving family, friends, and his professional and church communities.

Mike lived a very full and abundant life and is already greatly missed by his family, friends, colleagues, students, and countless others whose lives he touched through his wisdom, mentorship, gentleness, kindness, sense of humor, and generosity.

The Liu family would like to thank Riverview Health & Rehabilitation Center and Riverside Hospital for the wonderful and outstanding care they provided to Mike in the last three months of his life.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to the Professor Mike Liu Graduate Scholarship Fund at the Ohio State University (GF604247).

A memorial service will be held at Schoedinger Worthington.