The Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation, which is nearing completion at Santa Clara University, received a big boost Wednesday thanks to a $25 million donation from tech entrepreneurs John and Susan Ocampo.
University officials said the gift is earmarked to finish the interdisciplinary space in the north wing of the complex, which will be named after the couple. That area of the STEM-focused center will include a 3,000-square foot glass-enclosed Innovation Zone and adjacent lounge, along with eight research labs, student project spaces and other features like a laser suite.
The Ocampos founded Sirenza Microdevices in 1984 and sold the company to RF Microdevices in 2007. The following year, the couple launched GaAs Labs, a private investment fund in Los Altos Hills. This is their largest donation to the university — they previously donated $1.3 million to SCU to establish the Center for Nanostructures in the School of Engineering — and it’s a very personal one for John Ocampo.
“There are three parties that believed in me more than I believed in myself,” John Ocampo, who was born in the Philippines, said in a statement. “My parents, my wife, and Santa Clara University. My family would not be where it is today without the support and values imparted by each of them.”
Ocampo, who graduated from Piedmont Hills High in San Jose, decided to attend Santa Clara University after seeing the campus for the first time while he was taking a driver’s lesson on The Alameda, which ran through campus back then. He studied engineering on a full scholarship and graduated in 1979. He met his wife during spring break in 1978 and they married four years later.
“Through their gift, John and Susan, who have done so much to advance innovation in semiconductor technology, will inspire in future students ingenuity and creativity in service to the common good,” said the Rev. Kevin O’Brien, Santa Clara’s president.
GIRL SCOUTS PLANT PEACE: Girl Scouts in the Willow Glen and Cambrian neighborhoods in San Jose made “Pinwheels for Peace,” as their contribution to World Thinking Day on Monday, a day of international friendship that’s been celebrated since 1926. Gretchen Becker, at fifth-grader at St. Christopher School and member of Troop 62924, said the Girl Scouts wrote what peace means to each of them on the pinwheels.
The colorful pinwheels were “planted” in front of Willow Glen Elementary School over the weekend, providing a bit of delight for pedestrians and drivers on Lincoln Avenue. Thanks to Gretchen, as well as fellow Scouts Rachel Smith and Amalie Borden, for letting me know.
APPLAUSE WORTHY: Congratulations are in order for Bob Rucker, the former director of San Jose State’s School of Journalism, who was honored last week with the 2021 Legacy Award from Assemblyman Ash Kalra as part of his district’s African American History Month Celebration. In more than three decades at San Jose State, Rucker, a former CNN correspondent, had a hand in preparing a more than a generation of journalists (including this one). The award came with a big, framed resolution from the Assembly, which Kalra hand delivered to Rucker.
And San Jose Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren was named a 2021 Champion of Science by the Science Coalition, a nonprofit organization of more than 50 public and private research institutions. During her more than 20 years in the House of Representatives, Lofgren has brought a lot of federal money to scientific research, which shouldn’t be a big surprise from Silicon Valley’s voice in Congress.
“It’s always been clear to me that advancing basic and applied research is key to maintaining U.S. competitiveness in a 21st century economy. Plus, amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic, we have all been reminded of the importance of scientific research in the development of vaccines and treatments,” said Lofgren, who was nominated for the award by UC Santa Cruz and the University of California system.
