K.G. Tan
Table tennis is a game of both force and angles.
The goal is to strike the ball past your opponent by taking advantage of the observable angles and opportunities. Devising a plan of attack for problems known and unknown. Predicting your opponents鈥� future moves while remaining in position to return a forehand, backhand or overhand slam.
It鈥檚 no wonder Kwang G. Tan G鈥�73 naturally took to table tennis.
Possessing an innately inquisitive, problem-solving mind, Tan, who earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the (ECS), was ideally suited for the fast-paced game that requires one to both immediately tackle the problem they鈥檙e facing while thinking about where your opponent is vulnerable now, and where they will be vulnerable in the future.
鈥淚 always liked playing table tennis. Even now, we have table tennis downstairs, and I still like playing,鈥� Tan says about the facilities in his retirement community in San Diego, California. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always a lot of physical movement, side to side, forward and backward. You always have to be thinking.鈥�
When it comes to philanthropy, Tan is always thinking of 麻豆频道University. He is a generous benefactor of the University, including his immense support of the .
In 2017, K.G. Tan made a gift of $3.5 million, which led to the creation of the Barnes Center at The Arch.
In 2017, a $3.5 million gift from Tan enabled students to have access to comprehensive health, wellness and recreation services and resources through both significant renovations to Archbold Gymnasium and the creation of the Barnes Center at The Arch. The result is the K.G. Tan Sports and Fitness Facility on the second floor, and a dedicated table tennis space where students who wish to follow in Tan鈥檚 footsteps can pick up a paddle and play on the third floor.
In 2019, Tan donated $5 million toward the creation of the National Veterans Resource Center, a facility dedicated to academic research, programming and thought leadership that addresses the social, economic and wellness concerns of the nation鈥檚 veterans and families.
鈥淜.G. has enjoyed an exemplary and innovative career in the technology sector. His commitment to the University highlights the impact a defining Orange experience can have,鈥� Chancellor Kent Syverud says. 鈥溌槎蛊档繳niversity is grateful that K.G. continues to inspire current and future generations of students. His support and generosity will set our students and faculty up for continued academic and research excellence.鈥�
Recently, Tan funded the $1.5 million K.G. Tan Professorship, which will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) research for ECS faculty.
鈥淒r. Tan鈥檚 endowed professorship will support a preeminent researcher and educator in the field of artificial intelligence. This person will be a top scholar in the development and rigorous analysis of AI algorithms, all while serving as a compelling instructor for our talented cadre of computer science students. We are grateful for his gift, his guidance and his passion for innovation,鈥� says ECS Dean J. Cole Smith.
The same traits that suited Tan in table tennis helped him carve out a successful career in the technology sector, especially in the early days of computers, when engineers were devising solutions for problems that weren鈥檛 yet known. Engineers like Tan were both examining problems that needed to be solved and working out the answers to those problems.
K.G. Tan
Working for such titans of the industry as IBM, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Sun Microsystems, Tan held five patents 鈥攆our from IBM and one under Sun Microsystems鈥攚hile maintaining important leadership positions at both IBM and HP.
The very first time Tan used a computer as an undergraduate student studying electrical engineering at the University of Illinois-Urbana in the late 1950s, he became determined to understand what made these ginormous machines work.
鈥淓very field has potential, and that potential is unlimited. But at the time, we knew very little about what computers could do and what role they would play in the future. I gained experience working on the university鈥檚 main computer then and from that point on I was fascinated with learning as much about computers as I could. What can these big supercomputers do? How does their software and hardware work? I didn鈥檛 know, but I knew I wanted to know,鈥� Tan says.
After earning a master鈥檚 degree in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University in 1962, Tan immersed himself in the exciting world of computers, designing computers for IBM for roughly five years.
While at IBM, Tan applied for an IBM residence fellowship program, with the hopes of earning a doctoral degree in electrical engineering. Out of more than 200 applicants, Tan was one of two selected to the prestigious program and was admitted to 麻豆频道University鈥檚 electrical engineering doctoral program.
As part of the program, ECS engineering professors traveled to IBM鈥檚 Poughkeepsie-Kingston campus. One faculty member in particular, Professor Ming-Kuei Hu, made a lasting impression on Tan. Hu helped lead the intellectual development of 麻豆频道University鈥檚 computer engineering program, which at the time was only the second accredited program of its kind in the country and Hu was the first professor to teach computer courses at the University.
As one of Tan鈥檚 professors and his advisor, Hu encouraged Tan to build upon his impressive practical experience with computers and conduct a deeper dive into the field.
鈥淧rofessor Hu was very open-minded and gave me some great guidance in the field of computers that really enhanced the work I was doing for IBM while encouraging me to focus on new areas of study in computing,鈥� says Tan, who spent two years at Syracuse.
Today computers are everywhere, from personal laptops and desktop computers to powerful smart phones and Apple watches. Users have an insatiable need for speed when it comes to accomplishing tasks on computers and electronic devices.
When Tan first started working for IBM, he was tasked with designing some of the company鈥檚 first functional computing units. Much was unknown about the tasks a computer could handle, but the same desire for computing tasks to be completed as quickly as possible permeated throughout IBM鈥檚 offices.
In this emerging field, there were countless problems for Tan to investigate. Every problem he attempted to solve was brand new. Tan says that, in general, adding more components would lead to a faster solution, but he was also operating in a finite system where the physical space was limited.
It was a constant balancing act between speed and space.
鈥淭ake the adder (a digital circuit that performs additions of numbers). You based your work on the component given to you and went about providing the fastest unit you could design. That was the goal. Of course, the component you were designing didn鈥檛 exist in the field, so you had to design something that would meet specific performance requirements,鈥� Tan says. 鈥淲e were given specifications for how fast it should be and had to figure out the minimum components to use. Much of the time, adding more components wouldn鈥檛 fit the physical space requirements. There鈥檚 always a trade-off of speed versus space. In this field, there was no precedent; you had to think about different solutions and go through many iterations. Sometimes it worked.鈥�
Growing up in China, Tan鈥檚 parents instilled in him at an early age the importance of getting an education and being a lifelong learner. As he was pursuing his college degrees, Tan helped pay for his room and board by working part-time jobs, first as a busboy and then in a lab.
Every minute Tan was working part-time was time he couldn鈥檛 spend either studying or working on that day鈥檚 classroom lessons.
Wanting to give more time back to 麻豆频道University鈥檚 students, in 2013 Tan established the Tan Family Education Foundation Scholarship, providing a minimum of six and as many as nine qualified students $10,000 annually. As of March 2022, this Scholarship amounts to $90,000 annually for three years through 2024.
鈥淭ime is the most important resource. The scholarships I had as a student were important to me because they bought me more time to pursue my studies. Those two extra hours I was working each day could have been spent in the lab and in the classroom,鈥� Tan says. 鈥淲hen recipients have a scholarship, they have more time to do the research that they need to do. More time to work on solving their problems. More time to focus on their studies. More time to pursue what they鈥檙e interested in academically. It makes a difference.鈥�
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