20 Years, 20 Wins: USC ECE Celebrates Two Decades Under the Ming Hsieh Name

Twenty years ago, USC's electrical and computer engineering department received a $35 million gift and a new name: the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).

As October marks the 20th anniversary of the department's naming and this transformative gift from USC alumnus Ming Hsieh, university leaders, faculty, alumni and students gathered at USC Town and Gown on October 22 to celebrate.

Hosted by USC President Beong-Soo Kim and Gaurav Sukhatme, dean (interim) of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the director of the USC Stevens School of Computing and AI, the celebration dinner honored Hsieh and his wife, Eva, alongside Suzanne Nora Johnson, chair of the USC Board of Trustees; Shrikanth Narayanan, USC vice president for presidential initiatives; and ECE Department Chair Richard Leahy.

From arriving on campus as an electrical engineering student more than four decades ago to serving as a university trustee today, Hsieh reflected on the roots of his interest in engineering. "My first lessons in electrical engineering came from my father on a farm in China, where resources were scarce but curiosity was abundant. He taught me that engineering could improve people's lives," he said.

Standing at the podium, Hsieh looked back on the role USC played in his journey, saying, "USC gave that curiosity direction. It gave me the knowledge and the confidence to become an engineer and entrepreneur. Supporting this department was my way of expressing gratitude - and helping others find their own opportunities."

Hsieh earned his bachelor's degree in 1983 and master's degree in 1984.

The endowment, then the largest gift to name an academic department in university history in the country, laid the groundwork for faculty recruitment, research infrastructure and student support, helping shape the department's trajectory over the next two decades.

"Since its naming, this department has added seven National Academy of Engineering members. We've also added 19 National Academy of Inventors members," Kim said, citing the department's growth and research impact. Hsieh is a member of both academies. Kim also praised Hsieh's continued generosity, saying that despite his success, he "has never forgotten his roots."

"In many ways, the Ming Hsieh Department mirrors the spirit of the Olympic Games. It brings together people from many countries … and it's a showcase of excellence from many different disciplines and fields," Sukhatme said.

Drawing on the Olympic motto - "faster, higher, stronger" - and its later addition, "together," Sukhatme highlighted milestones ranging from USC's launch of the first operational quantum computing system at a university in 2011 to advances in high-temperature memory devices and the department's collaborative research community.

The celebration also highlighted the impact of the gift on the students who carry the department's legacy forward. ECE student Cynthia Liu shared how the department helped her navigate early setbacks and build confidence through hands-on learning and collaboration.

"The Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been a welcoming place for me to make mistakes, learn and try again," Liu said.

Here are 20 milestones that capture the department's growth and impact under the Ming Hsieh name since 2006.

20 Years, 20 Milestones

1. National Academy Recognition: 7 NAE Members and 19 NAI Fellows

Since 2006, USC ECE has welcomed seven faculty members with department appointments elected to the National Academy of Engineering and 19 fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. The most recent addition is Shri Narayanan, vice president and director of the Ming Hsieh Institute.

2. Growing the Faculty With 40 New Hires

Since 2006, the department has recruited 40 tenure-track and tenured faculty members, expanding its core faculty to 59.

3. Launching New Degree Programs in AI and Semiconductor Technology

Since 2006, USC ECE has expanded its curriculum with more than 10 specialized degree options spanning quantum information science, financial engineering, applied physics, machine learning and data science, computer architecture, VLSI design and other emerging fields, alongside new interdisciplinary programs and an undergraduate minor in Internet of Things engineering. Launched in 2025, the B.S. in Artificial Intelligence is the department's newest degree program, welcoming its first cohort of students in fall 2026.

4. Surpassing 1 Million Google Scholar Citations

USC ECE research has surpassed 1 million citations on Google Scholar, reflecting the growing reach and influence of the department's scholarship.

5. Establishing Four Ming Hsieh Endowed Chairs and Professorships

The Ming Hsieh endowment established four named faculty positions, strengthening the department's ability to attract and retain leading scholars: the Ming Hsieh Chair in Electrical Engineering-Systems, held by C.-C. Jay Kuo; the Ming Hsieh Chair in ECE-Electrophysics, held by Mahta Moghaddam; the Ming Hsieh Systems Professorship and Faculty Fellow, held by Bhaskar Krishnamachari; and the Ming Hsieh Electrophysics Professorship and Faculty Fellow, held by Hossein Hashemi.

6. Establishing the Ming Hsieh Institute in 2010

Established in 2010, the Ming Hsieh Institute has supported student scholarships, a seminar series, annual research festivals and student organizations, including USC IEEE and USC Makers. The institute also provides a dedicated student lounge that helps build community.

7. Hosting the World's First University-Based Commercial Quantum Computing System

In 2011, USC launched the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center, hosting a D-Wave adiabatic quantum processor. The center made USC the first university to host and operate a commercial quantum computing system.

8. Building AI Research Partnerships With Industry Leaders

USC ECE has established major research partnerships with industry leaders through centers including the USC-Amazon Center on Secure and Trusted Machine Learning, the USC-Meta Center and the Capital One Center for Responsible AI in Finance.

9. Launching the Only Low-Field MRI Facility for Dynamic Imaging

The Dynamic Imaging Science Center, directed by USC ECE Professor Krishna Nayak, provides low-field, 0.55-tesla MRI capabilities for real-time imaging of the vocal tract, heart and fetus, as well as simultaneous EEG and functional MRI studies.

10. Expanding Hands-On Learning With New Hardware and Maker Spaces

A $1 million grant from the Fletcher Jones Foundation supported a new hardware design instructional laboratory alongside the PHE E-MakerSpace. Designed to complement the Baum Family Maker Space, the facility provides dedicated areas for electronics design, prototyping, fabrication, testing and collaboration.

11. Leading California's Microelectronics Innovation Through DREAMS and MOSIS 2.0

USC ECE was selected to lead the California DREAMS Microelectronics Commons Superhub and launch MOSIS 2.0, advancing microelectronics prototyping and workforce development. USC ECE Associate Professor Rehan Kapadia was named director of MOSIS 2.0 in 2025.

12. Opening the John O'Brien Nanofabrication Laboratory Clean Room

In 2021, USC opened the John O'Brien Nanofabrication Laboratory's clean room and associated nanomaterials imaging and bio-microdevice core facilities, expanding access to advanced research infrastructure across campus.

13. Unifying Systems and Electrophysics Into One ECE Department

In 2024, USC unified its Systems and Electrophysics divisions into a single, integrated Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, bringing the department's research and academic communities together under one organizational structure.

14. Helping Establish the Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence

In 2026, USC ECE alumnus Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary, made a historic $200 million gift to establish the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, where ECE is housed.

15. Earning an Emmy for Pioneering Digital Video Technology

USC ECE Professor C.-C. Jay Kuo and his collaborators helped advance video compression technologies that underpin digital media and internet video transmission. Their contributions to MPEG standards earned recognition from the Television Academy with an Emmy Award for digital media innovation.

16. Pushing the Limits of Optical Communication Capacity

USC ECE Professor Alan Willner has advanced high-capacity optical communications through techniques involving polarization, orbital angular momentum beams and spatial-mode multiplexing. His research has helped expand the amount of information that can be transmitted through optical communication systems.

17. Securing a Major NSF Expedition to Advance Superconducting Computing

Led by USC ECE Professor Massoud Pedram, the NSF DISCoVER Expedition in Computing launched in 2022 to develop open-source design automation tools and computing architectures for ultrafast, energy-efficient superconducting processors.

18. Advancing Carbon Nanotube Electronics Beyond Silicon

USC ECE Professor Chongwu Zhou and his research team demonstrated aligned carbon-nanotube transistors and integrated circuits, advancing nanotube-based electronics and pushing the boundaries of post-silicon nanoelectronics.

19. Pioneering Behavioral Signal Processing and Human-Centered AI

USC ECE Professor Shrikanth (Shri) Narayanan pioneered Behavioral Signal Processing (BSP), applying signal processing and speech recognition to understand human behavioral, emotional and psychological states. His research has advanced applications in health care and human-AI interaction.

20. Establishing Mathematical Foundations for AI Optimization

USC ECE Professor Mahdi Soltanolkotabi has advanced the mathematical understanding of nonconvex optimization, helping explain when and why optimization methods succeed in modern machine learning. His work provides theoretical foundations for developing and training increasingly sophisticated AI models.

Published on November 3rd, 2026

Last updated on November 5th, 2026