Established in 1986 by the Ellis Island Honors Society, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor is awarded annually to a group of distinguished U.S. citizens who exemplify a life dedicated to community service. The medal also celebrates the traditions and values of the recipients’ ancestry and the spirit of America.
This year’s awardees include Henry Samueli ’75, M.S ’76, Ph.D. ’80, his wife Susan Samueli and Reza Rofougaran ’86, M.S. ’88, Ph.D. ’98.
The medal will be presented at the Ellis Island Medals of Honor gala in the fall.
Henry and Susan Samueli
Henry Samueli, a full-time professor of electrical engineering at UCLA from 1985 to 1995, co-founded Broadcom Corporation in 1991. In 2016, Broadcom Corporation was acquired by Avago Technologies Limited and renamed Broadcom Inc. He currently serves as chairman of the board of the company, which is one of the world’s largest semiconductor and infrastructure software companies.
Henry and Susan, who graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in mathematics, are longtime supporters of the UCLA engineering school. In 2019, the couple donated $100 million, the school’s largest gift ever, to help expand the school.
Reza Rofougaran
Reza Rofougaran serves as co-CEO, founder and CTO of Movandi, a leader in 5G millimeter wave networks. He pioneered advances in the development and commercialization of analog and mixed signal circuits for modern communication systems, particularly in radio frequency design for smartphones and wireless networking. Rofougaran holds 868 patents, ranking him as one of the top 30 patent-holders in the world.
Rofougaran and his sister Maryam Rofougaran (’92, MS ’95) co-founded Innovent Systems in 1999 and built the world’s first CMOS Bluetooth transceiver, an important milestone in wireless communications. The company was acquired by Broadcom Corporation in 2000.
The medal will be presented to Samueli, Rofougaran and other distinguished Americans at the Ellis Island Medals of Honor gala in the fall.