UCI Officially Names Its Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department After a Vietnamese American

February 23, 2026
Tra Nhien/Nguoi Viet

IRVINE, California (NV) – UC Irvine (UCI) has officially renamed its engineering department the "Nhu Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science" in honor of Mr. Nhu Huy Hoang, after he and his sister, Dr. Nhu Thi Thuc Trinh, donated millions of dollars to support the department's teaching, research, and development activities.

From left, top row: Professor Magnus Egerstedt (Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UCI), Mr. Nhu Huy Hoang, Dr. Nhu Thi Thuc Trinh, and Professor A. Lee Swindlehurst. (Photo: Tra Nhien/Nguoi Viet)

A large crowd of guests gathered in front of the UCI engineering building on Friday afternoon, February 20, to witness the ceremony honoring Mr. Nhu Huy Hoang and Dr. Nhu Thi Thuc Trinh, and the historic moment when a UCI department was renamed after a Vietnamese American benefactor for the first time.

Mr. Nhu Huy Hoang is a technology entrepreneur and CEO of Nouslogic Telehealth Inc. Dr. Nhu Thi Thuc Trinh is an ophthalmologist and co-founder of Eye-AI Inc. along with Mr. Hoang.

Professor A. Lee Swindlehurst, a Distinguished Professor at UCI, opened the ceremony and introduced the biographies of the two Vietnamese American benefactors.

"Today, we extend our deepest gratitude to both of you, along with your entire family and all the guests joining us for this recognition ceremony. We are honored that the Nhu family has chosen to call this place home and to share their generosity with us. This contribution will be deeply appreciated and will benefit students for many years to come," Professor A. Lee Swindlehurst said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Nhu Huy Hoang remarked: "This is a very meaningful moment for UCI, as we enter the era of AI (artificial intelligence) everywhere. Perhaps in a few years, a robot will be able to convey my emotions and thoughts in this speech better than I can myself."

The two benefactors of UCI's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science: Mr. Nhu Huy Hoang (left) and his sister, Dr. Nhu Thi Thuc Trinh. (Photo: Tra Nhien/Nguoi Viet)

Over the past decade, Mr. Hoang has observed the UCI Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science climbing strongly in national rankings, and he believes this momentum will accelerate further as AI becomes the foundation of the global economy and deeply shapes daily life.

Through the endowed fund, his family hopes to foster greater interdisciplinary collaboration and the application of AI across both science and engineering.

This year also marks an important personal milestone for his family and the Vietnamese community in Little Saigon — the 50th anniversary of starting a new life in America after leaving Vietnam in 1975.

After decades of studying and working at major technology corporations such as Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Broadcom, he felt it was time to give back to the community.

"Having achieved the American Dream, we felt it was time to give back — to create more opportunities for the next generation of engineering students here in Orange County," he said.

He shared that this donation is also a tribute to his parents, who sacrificed their entire lives so that their children could receive an education and live with integrity.

"I believe my parents would be incredibly proud to see, for the first time, an engineering department in America bearing the name of a Vietnamese family," Mr. Hoang said, visibly moved.

Mr. Hoang also sent a message to engineering students: "If you work hard and make the most of your opportunities at UCI, your chances of career success will far exceed what I could have imagined years ago."

Dr. Nhu Thi Thuc Trinh shared that as a young woman she had many dreams and aspirations, but had never imagined that one day she would stand here as a benefactor of the very university she had attended.

As a UCI alumna, she said she has had the opportunity to witness the university grow from a small campus into one of America's leading public universities, now globally respected for the quality of its education and research.

Mr. Nhu Huy Hoang delivers remarks in front of the Nhu Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science banner. (Photo: Tra Nhien/Nguoi Viet)

"We believe the most meaningful way to contribute to the community is to support the department — helping to train the next generation of talent, especially at a time when technology is the foundation of the future," Dr. Thuc Trinh said.

Through her family's endowed fund, she hopes to help the department continue advancing research, innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration — activities that benefit not only the local community but society as a whole.

She also expressed her gratitude to the university's leadership and, finally, paid tribute to her parents: "Our parents' sacrifices and unwavering encouragement laid the foundation for our education and brought us to this day."

Professor Magnus Egerstedt, Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UCI, said he was deeply proud to hold this role, even as his tenure was drawing to a close — his last official day having been the Friday of the previous week.

"I am incredibly grateful that my final act as department chair at UCI is to be part of this wonderful ceremony," he said.

Professor Egerstedt noted that UCI is located within a community with a large Vietnamese and Southeast Asian population, and the university counts many Vietnamese American faculty members and students in its engineering programs.

For that reason, naming the department after a Vietnamese American engineer sends a powerful message about opportunity and the future.

He also expressed how moved he was that the ceremony took place exactly on the 50th anniversary of the Nhu family's journey from Vietnam to America.

On a personal note, Professor Egerstedt also spoke of his gratitude for his friendship with the Nhu family.

"From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your generosity, your leadership, your partnership, and the trust you have placed in us," Professor Egerstedt said in closing.

Guests gathered at the naming ceremony for the Nhu Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Irvine. (Photo: Tra Nhien/Nguoi Viet)

This donation establishes the "Nhu Family Endowed Fund," a permanent and flexible source of support for the department as it continues to grow.

The UCI Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science currently serves nearly 1,700 students and is internationally recognized for achievements across many fields, including AI, robotics, wireless communications, circuits and devices, bioelectronics, computer architecture, and more.

UCI is one of 10 universities in the University of California system, considered the largest and most prestigious public university system in America.

Approximately 35 to 43% of UCI's student body is of Asian descent, with roughly 13% identifying as Vietnamese American. [end]

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