Ming Hsieh
Encyclopedia
Ming Hsieh is a billionaire
Chinese American
entrepreneur
and philanthropist
and the founder of AMAX technology in 1987 and Cogent Systems
in 1990. According to Forbes
magazine, his estimated net worth exceeds $1.6 billion, ranking him the 198th richest person in America and 562nd among The World's Richest People In 2006.
Born to Baoyan and Sun Hsieh, Ming Hsieh's family originated in Guangzhou (Canton), he was raised in Shenyang
, the capital city of Liaoning
province in Northeast China
. His family was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution
as a part of China's upper middle class having ties with the old national government moved to Taiwan (Yingzhou, Ming's grandfather, was famous high-ranking official of Republic of China); as a result, his family was forced to move in 1966 to a small village near Panjin
. At age 10, Hsieh's formal education stopped for the next ten years. During that period, Hsieh learned the trade of electrical engineering
from his formally trained father as they built a crude power system for the village they were assigned to and did odd repair work.
Hsieh's uncle, P.Y. Hsieh, had left China and earned a Master of Science
in mechanical engineering
from the University of Southern California
in 1952 before working for TRW
. Knowing of this, Hsieh decided to follow his uncle and, after two years at the South China Institute of Technology in Guangzhou
and with an inheritance from his grandparents in Taiwan
, he transferred to USC's engineering program at age 24. Hsieh earned his Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering
from USC in 1983 and MSEE in 1984. His parents wanted him to continue and earn a Ph.D.
, but Hsieh decided to first work a few years.
Hsieh began work as a circuit designer for International Rectifier
. After two and a half years, he decided to start his own business. In 1987 he founded AMAX Information Technologies
with former USC classmates and engineers from his uncle's work, TRW. Serving as its vice president, AMAX created servers, storage systems and related hardware, but Hsieh realized there was a need for software to go with his hardware. As a result, with another fellow USC classmate, he founded Cogent Systems Inc. which offered fully automated, high-speed biometric fingerprint system. The company began receiving numerous government contracts and now includes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Prisons
, FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police
amongst its customers.
In October 2006, Hsieh donated $35 million to USC's Viterbi School of Engineering
's Department of Electrical Engineering, 100 years after the department and school's founding. In honor of his donation, the department was renamed the USC Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering. In October 2010, Hsieh donated $50 million to USC for cancer research. He is on the USC Board of Trustee
s.
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Hsieh is married with two children. He lives in Los Angeles
and has a house in San Francisco.
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and the founder of AMAX technology in 1987 and Cogent Systems
Cogent Inc.
Cogent Systems, Inc. is a manufacturer of automated fingerprint identification systems .On August 30, 2010 3M announced they acquired Cogent Systems for $943M.-External links:*...
in 1990. According to Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine, his estimated net worth exceeds $1.6 billion, ranking him the 198th richest person in America and 562nd among The World's Richest People In 2006.
Born to Baoyan and Sun Hsieh, Ming Hsieh's family originated in Guangzhou (Canton), he was raised in Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
, the capital city of Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
province in Northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
. His family was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
as a part of China's upper middle class having ties with the old national government moved to Taiwan (Yingzhou, Ming's grandfather, was famous high-ranking official of Republic of China); as a result, his family was forced to move in 1966 to a small village near Panjin
Panjin
Panjin is a prefecture-level city and a major oil-producing city in Liaoning Province, China. It is between 40°40' -41°27' in north latitude and 121°31' -122 °28' in east longitude. It has four distinct seasons, an annual average temperature of 8.6℃ and receives over 2700 hours of sunshine a year...
. At age 10, Hsieh's formal education stopped for the next ten years. During that period, Hsieh learned the trade of electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from his formally trained father as they built a crude power system for the village they were assigned to and did odd repair work.
Hsieh's uncle, P.Y. Hsieh, had left China and earned a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1952 before working for TRW
TRW
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft,...
. Knowing of this, Hsieh decided to follow his uncle and, after two years at the South China Institute of Technology in Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
and with an inheritance from his grandparents in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, he transferred to USC's engineering program at age 24. Hsieh earned his Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from USC in 1983 and MSEE in 1984. His parents wanted him to continue and earn a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, but Hsieh decided to first work a few years.
Hsieh began work as a circuit designer for International Rectifier
International Rectifier
International Rectifier Corp. is a manufacturer of power semiconductors , located in El Segundo, California, USA...
. After two and a half years, he decided to start his own business. In 1987 he founded AMAX Information Technologies
AMAX Information Technologies
AMAX is a privately held, ISO 9001 certified, enterprise computing solutions company that provides custom-built servers, storage, clusters, workstations and various high performance computing systems for corporate, scientific, military, educational and governmental use.- Location & Facilities :In...
with former USC classmates and engineers from his uncle's work, TRW. Serving as its vice president, AMAX created servers, storage systems and related hardware, but Hsieh realized there was a need for software to go with his hardware. As a result, with another fellow USC classmate, he founded Cogent Systems Inc. which offered fully automated, high-speed biometric fingerprint system. The company began receiving numerous government contracts and now includes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
, FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
amongst its customers.
In October 2006, Hsieh donated $35 million to USC's Viterbi School of Engineering
Viterbi School of Engineering
The Viterbi School of Engineering is located at the University of Southern California in the United States. It was renamed following a $52 million donation by Andrew Viterbi...
's Department of Electrical Engineering, 100 years after the department and school's founding. In honor of his donation, the department was renamed the USC Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering. In October 2010, Hsieh donated $50 million to USC for cancer research. He is on the USC Board of Trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
s.
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Hsieh is married with two children. He lives in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and has a house in San Francisco.