UCLA Engineering Celebrates 80th Anniversary and 25 Years as the Samueli School

UCLA Samueli Newsroom

UCLA’s largest professional school commemorated its founding eight decades ago and the 25th anniversary of its naming as the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science in honor of triple alumnus and Broadcom Inc. co-founder Henry Samueli.

More than 250 engineering alumni, faculty and students gathered on campus Saturday, Oct. 11, for tech talks, award presentations and a showcase of student-led club activities. The afternoon program, held in the William M. W. Mong Memorial Auditorium, featured a fireside chat with the school’s namesake, two faculty panels, three rapid-fire tech talks and remarks from UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk.

Ah-Hyung “Alissa” Park, the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of Engineering, premiered a new school video, “Engineer Change: The Power of Possibility,” during her welcome remarks. The five-minute film highlighted the school’s multidisciplinary research aimed at addressing humanity’s grand challenges.

Park shared the school’s continued growth, including the hiring of 33 new faculty members over the past two years and a 10% increase in new student enrollment this year. “We are just getting started,” Park said. “We are not holding back. We are moving forward, investing in our future and dreaming big.”

UCLA Samueli’s latest video highlighting groundbreaking research

Following her remarks, Park held a fireside chat with Henry Samueli ’75, M.S. ’76, Ph.D. ’80, who received his first of three UCLA engineering degrees 50 years ago this spring.

“You’re going to create a bigger and bigger research enterprise and teaching enterprise to train the next generation of engineers that are going to go out and found companies, work in companies, create new technologies,” Samueli said, reflecting on the school and the future of technology. “I think it’s going to accelerate over time, especially with the tools we’re now creating with AI. To me, it’s a time that’s more exciting than I’ve ever seen in the history of technology. It’s remarkable.”

For 25 years, UCLA’s School of Engineering has proudly carried the name of Henry Samueli, whose generosity and leadership have shaped the school’s trajectory and global impact. In a video launched ahead of Saturday’s event, the semiconductor pioneer shared his journey from UCLA student to industry leader and why he remains committed to supporting the school, its students and faculty as they continue to drive innovation and shape the future.

Throughout the program, master of ceremonies and Dean’s Corporate Advisory Board member Jamal Madni M.S. ’08, M.S. ’12 announced the 2025 UCLA Samueli faculty, student and alumni awardees, including Fang Lu M.S. ’88, Engr. ’89, Ph.D. ’92, who received the highest honor, the Alumnus of the Year Award.

Congratulations to the 2025 UCLA Samueli awardees

The celebration also featured two faculty panels. The first, on the future of health care, included mechanical and aerospace engineering assistant professor Tyler Clites, Bioengineering Department chair and professor Dino Di Carlo and electrical and computer engineering professor Dejan Marković. Associate Dean Robert Candler moderated the discussion, which explored challenges of scale, treatment approaches and how to enhance interactions between technological and biological systems.

The second panel, moderated by computer science professor Stefano Soatto, addressed emerging challenges in artificial intelligence, including privacy and security guardrails and how AI can save lives and enhance human creativity. The panel featured civil and environmental engineering professor Jiaqi Ma and assistant professor Youngseo Kim, as well as computer science associate professor Violet Peng.

Three professors also presented Bruin Talks highlighting the impact of their research. Gaurav Sant, director of the Institute for Carbon Management and a civil and environmental engineering professor, discussed how his multidisciplinary team is scaling lab discoveries into sustainable and commercially viable technologies with real-world impact. Anya Jones, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the Separated and Transient Aerodynamics Laboratory, shared her group’s work to improve aircraft safety in extreme weather. Dennis Hong, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, showcased his lab’s array of humanoid and other versatile robots, including some featured in Hollywood films.

“I’m going to start a practice of hugging an engineer every day,” said UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk in his closing remarks following the tech talks. “I’m in awe of engineers. As someone in a very different space of human activity, I can’t help but admire that, the ability to think something and then actually see it concretized in an object and in a solution.”

After the official program, guests were invited to a reception in Boelter Courtyard, where UCLA Samueli students were the stars of the show. Dean Park presented the 2025 outstanding student awards, and many engineering student groups filled the festively decorated space with posters and project demonstrations, from Bruin Racing to 3D4E. Student ambassadors also led tours of engineering buildings, including the hands-on Makerspace.

Visit the school website to view the video recording of the symposium portion of the anniversary celebration and the full event program.