(The following text is an excerpt from the book Chinese Americans in Irvine 1971-2021. Mr. Yuen passed away on Feb 13, 2022.)
Thomas (Tom) Yuen came to the United States from Hong Kong in 1970. He received his degree in electrical engineering in 1974 at UC Irvine. In 1980, he co-founded AST Research with two friends, which grew into a Fortune 500 company. Tom later became the Chairman and CEO of SRS Labs, which worked in the audio and voice technology space. Currently, Tom is the
Chairman and CEO of PrimeGen Biotech LLC, a private stem cell research company.
Involvement in Stem Cells
“During the winter of 1980 my kidneys failed, and I was informed that I would require dialysis for the rest of my life. I also learned that my condition was hereditary, and that my children could face similar issues in their future. This dire outlook inspired me to make it my life’s work to identify new therapies for the disease, as well as a broad array of other chronic diseases. After many years of research and reaching out to numerous experts on possible treatments, I learned of stem cells and their exciting potential.”
Involvement at UCI
Thomas Yuen, entrepreneur, philanthropist and community leader, received UC Irvine’s Extraordinarius award May 15, 2014 at the 44th annual Lauds & Laurels Ceremony. Lauds & Laurels is our opportunity to publicly recognize and thank those people who make a positive
impact on the university and our community.
Yuen has been widely recognized for his superlative business accomplishments, philanthropy and volunteer work. He is the first of the university’s 150,000 alumni to garner both the Extraordinarius award and the UCI Medal, presented in 1990 for his exemplary service.
He has served on the UC Irvine Foundation board of trustees and continues to be a major donor – along with his wife, Misa – to the campus and UC Irvine Douglas Hospital, particularly in support of cutting-edge stem cell research.
Noted on his current profile at PrimeGen Global Inc, is Thomas Yuen’s involvement and accolades from UCI:
1986 to present | UC Irvine, California, USA
- Distinguished Alumnus Award
- Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award
- UC Irvine Medal
- Extraordinarius Award
- UC Irvine Foundation Board of Trustees
- UC Irvine Institute for Innovation Founding Board
(Courtesy of Tracy L. Arcuri)
慈善家:袁志坤
(以下文字摘錄自《爾灣華裔紀實1971-2021》一書，袁志坤先生於2022年2月13日辭世)
袁志坤先生 1970 年從香港來美，進入加州大學爾灣分校（UC Irvine）就讀，於 1974 年獲得電機工程學士學位。1980 年，他與兩位朋友共同創立 AST Research，公司成長快速，被財富雜誌評選為 500 強的企業之一 ，之後又加入音頻語音技術先鋒的 SRS Labs 擔任董事長及行政總裁；袁先生目前是幹細胞生技研究公司 PrimeGen Biotech LLC 的董事長和首席執行長。
投入幹細胞研究領域
「1980 年冬天，我的腎臟功能衰竭，需要終生靠透析（洗腎）來維持，於此同時，我也了解到我的疾病具有遺傳性，這意味著我的孩子將來也可能會受到同樣的困擾。這讓我感到尋找有效治療此疾病的迫切性，決心窮我餘生，積極致力於探索新方法，並期待能擴展到其他慢性疾病，找到治療方向。經過多年的研究，與眾多的專家討論各種可能，我了解幹細胞對此疾病有著令人驚喜與鼓舞的潛力。」
對加州大學爾灣分校的貢獻
袁先生不僅是一位傑出的企業家，更是一位慈善家和模範社區領袖. 2014 年 5 月 15 日，他在第 44 屆Lauds＆Laurels 年度頒獎典禮上獲得爾灣加大頒發的卓越獎（Extraordinarius Award），這個獎項是表彰對大學及爾灣社區有積極貢獻者，感謝及推崇他們帶給大眾正向的影響力。
袁先生以其傑出的企業成就，在慈善事業和義務工作上得到各界廣泛認可。1990 年，他是爾灣加大十五萬校友當中，第一位同時獲得卓越獎及 UCI 獎章的得主，以表揚他出類拔萃的貢獻與服務。
作為爾灣加大基金會的董事，袁先生與妻子 Misa持續為爾灣加大及所屬醫院 UCI Irvine Douglas
Hospital）捐款，並竭力支持幹細胞前沿領域的研究。
根據 PrimeGen Global Inc 的最新資料，以下是袁先生自 1986 年至今，從美國加州大學爾灣分校獲得的榮譽與成就：
- 傑出校友獎
- 傑出工程校友獎
- 加州大學爾灣分校獎章
- 卓越獎
- 加州大學爾灣分校基金會執行董事
- 加州大學爾灣分校創新研究所創會董事
（中文翻譯：李佳禾）