en.Wedoany.com Reported - Susan Ocampo, co-founder of compound semiconductor investment firm GaAs Labs LLC, officially announced on May 19 the establishment of the $100 million John L. Ocampo Endowment Fund, dedicated to supporting research in radio frequency (RF), microwave, and photonics engineering at top academic institutions. The fund becomes one of the largest privately funded endowments to date supporting RF/microwave and photonics engineering education, directly addressing the urgent demand for high-end engineering talent driven by current semiconductor innovation.
John Ocampo was a pioneer in the compound semiconductor industry. He co-founded RF semiconductor supplier Sirenza Microdevices with Susan in 1985, and in 2008, they co-founded GaAs Labs, a private investment firm focused on the communications semiconductor market. Through GaAs Labs, they acquired MACOM Technology Solutions in 2009. John Ocampo was long dedicated to advancing high-speed communication technology for applications in cellular communications, satellite, aerospace and defense, and data centers. He was renowned in the RF/microwave technology field for identifying untapped potential and scaling it to global commercial success. John Ocampo passed away in November 2023 at the age of 64.
In the announcement, Susan Ocampo conveyed the Ocampo family's philosophy: "John believed the future of technology depends on the brilliant minds at universities. By establishing this fund, we are not only honoring his legacy but also investing in the same spirit of curiosity and technical excellence that defined his life's work." The core goal of the fund is to bridge the gap between theoretical exploration and commercial application, ensuring the next generation of engineers possesses the skills and resources to tackle the most pressing challenges in semiconductor solution design and manufacturing.
In its first year, the fund has already provided grants to seven professors and their research projects at five universities. The recipient institutions include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Davis, the University of Colorado Boulder, University College Cork/Tyndall National Institute in Ireland, and Santa Clara University. The endowment will be distributed to universities through annual allocations, specifically supporting professor-led research and student development in RF/microwave, photonics, and semiconductor engineering.
John and Susan Ocampo have a long history of commitment to educational philanthropy. In 2021, the couple donated $25 million to Santa Clara University to support the construction of a STEM teaching facility within the university's Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation, following a previous $1.3 million donation to establish a nanostructures center in the School of Engineering. This $100 million John L. Ocampo Endowment Fund elevates their years-long educational commitment from campus infrastructure and individual gifts to a systematic research funding platform spanning multiple top-tier universities.
The timing of this donation coincides with a period of sharply rising global demand for RF and photonics talent in the semiconductor industry. The extension of 5G-A networks into millimeter-wave bands, the large-scale deployment of satellite communication constellations, and the surging demand for high-speed optical interconnects in AI data centers are collectively propelling RF/microwave and photonics engineering from a relatively niche specialty to a core technology layer of information infrastructure. Concurrently, the Semiconductor Industry Association has repeatedly warned of a shortfall in engineering talent supply, making the adequacy of university research funding directly linked to the talent pipeline and depth of basic research for next-generation communication technologies.
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