Professor C.K. Ken Yang Named as Inaugural Holder of Tatsuo Itoh Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering

The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering has named C.K. Ken Yang as the inaugural holder of the Tatsuo Itoh Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Established in 2022 with a $1 million gift from Seiko Itoh in honor of her late husband and former UCLA professor Tatsuo Itoh, the endowed chair was matched with an additional $1 million from the Samueli Foundation.

“I am deeply honored by Seiko Itoh’s generous gift in memory of Tatsuo,” said Ah-Hyung “Alissa” Park, the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of Engineering. “He was an accomplished scholar in microwave and millimeter-wave electronics who was highly respected by both his colleagues and students. His impact and legacy remain strong throughout our research and educational programs. Ken Yang, an innovator in communications circuits, devices and systems, will lead pioneering research and advance educational programs as the inaugural chairholder.”

Tatsuo Itoh was a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCLA Samueli where he taught from 1991 until his passing in 2021. In an illustrious career that spanned more than 50 years, Itoh was among the world’s most influential researchers in his fields of study. He helped inspire many brilliant minds and future engineers, advising more than 80 doctoral students and over 100 postdoctoral scholars. 

“Tatsuo devoted his life to advancing innovative research and mentoring the next generation of scholars, and it was his wish that he and I establish this chair to provide other UCLA faculty the opportunity to do the same,” said Seiko Itoh. “I greatly appreciate all the support Tatsuo received from UCLA for his research endeavors and accomplishments. This chair honors his remarkable career and ensures that his spirit of inquiry and excellence lives on.”

“Tatsuo devoted his life to advancing innovative research and mentoring the next generation of scholars,” said Seiko Itoh. “This chair honors his remarkable career and ensures that his spirit of inquiry and excellence lives on.”

A prolific researcher, Itoh authored 48 books and book chapters, as well as nearly 1,500 research publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He had more than 68,000 citations to his name, according to Google Scholar. At UCLA, he led the Microwave Electronics Laboratory, which studied microwaves and millimeter waves for components of integrated circuits and metamaterials. He was named the TRW Professor of Microwave, and Millimeter-Wave Electronics, an endowed chair that later became the Northrop Grumman Chair in Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Electronics.

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1940, Itoh received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Yokohama National University in 1964 and 1966, respectively. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1969. After his doctorate, he held various research positions, including at Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California. Prior to joining UCLA, he was a faculty member with the University of Texas at Austin for more than 10 years. 

Among his many honors, Itoh was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2003 and the National Academy of Inventors in 2013. The Microwave Theory and Techniques Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), for which Itoh served as president in 1990, created the Tatsuo Itoh Award in his honor and named him a distinguished educator in microwave theory and techniques.

“I believe that Tatsuo would share my gratitude that Ken Yang, someone who so clearly embodies the values that Tatsuo cherished, now holds a chair in his honor,” said Seiko, who moved from the Los Angeles area after Tatsuo’s death. She now divides her time between Japan and Silicon Valley, where she and Tatsuo raised their children.

Yang, who joined the UCLA faculty in 1998, has focused his research on mixed analog- and digital-circuit design and its impact on computing systems. He is a pioneer in enabling multi-gigabit-per-second communication between processing elements and has introduced circuit techniques to overcome timing noise and data-bandwidth bottlenecks. 

His research group has worked on optimizing algorithms to evaluate the performance impact of introducing new device elements in circuit sub-systems such as analog-to-digital converters. Recently, the team introduced integrated parasitic diodes to enable sub-microwatt wireless radios and high-voltage drivers. He has also extended his work in data communications to computer networking and introduced software and hardware mechanisms for virtualizing network connections between virtual machines. Currently, he is developing new capabilities and applications through novel devices, circuits and system design. 

Previously, Yang served as chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and vice chair for the department’s industry affiliates program. He is an IEEE fellow and the recipient of UCLA Samueli’s 2003 Northrop Grumman Outstanding Teaching Award.