At a gala dinner on May 19, 2014 hosted by the Asia Society of Southern California, USC Trustee Ming Hsieh was honored as the 2014 Philanthropist of the Year, presented with the award by USC President C. L. Max Nikias.
Ming Hsieh earned a B.S. (1983) and M.S. (1984) in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. Soon after earning his degrees, he founded two highly successful companies, AMAX Information Technologies (1985) and Cogent, Inc. (1990), of which he is president, chief executive officer, and chairman.
In 2006, Ming Hsieh generously made a $35 million gift to the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and subsequently the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering was named in his honor. Hsieh serves as a USC Trustee and a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.