Nicolaos (Nick) G. Alexopoulos was born in Athens, Greece, in 1942. He graduated from the 8th Gymnasium in 1959. He earned his BSEE (1964), MSEE (1967), and PhD (1968) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Dr. Alexopoulos served as the Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at University of California at Irvine (UCI) from 1997 to 2008. He was a member of the faculty at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1969 to 1996, where he served as Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department (1987-1992) and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (1986-1987) before taking his post as Dean at UCI.
He joined Broadcom Corporation (2008-2015) as Vice President for Antennas, RF Technologies and University Relations. He currently serves as Vice President for Academic Programs and University Relations with Broadcom Foundation.
Dr. Alexopoulos was elected an IEEE Fellow “For contributions to the understanding of substrate-superstrate effects on printed circuit antennas and integrated microwave circuits.” He was elected to the United States National Academy of Engineering “For contributions to microwave circuits, antennas, and structures for low observable technologies, and for contributions in engineering education.”
Dr. Alexopoulos is Highly Cited in Computer Science and has received two IEEE Best Journal Paper Awards. He and his students have published more than 300 journal and refereed conference publications and several book chapters. He also holds 25 US patents. He has received Honorary Doctorates from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and Chapman University in California.
He has served over the years as a consultant to various high-tech companies and to the US Government. In addition, he founded Kimalink Inc., which was bought by Broadcom in 2000.
Dr. Henry Samueli co-founded Broadcom Corporation in 1991 and currently serves as Chief Technical Officer of Broadcom Limited (Broadcom Corporation was acquired by Avago Technologies Limited in 2016 and renamed Broadcom Limited). Broadcom Ltd. is a global leader in providing semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Dr. Samueli helps drive the vision of Broadcom’s research and development activities and long-term technology strategy.
Since 1985 Dr. Samueli has also been a professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he has supervised research programs in broadband communications circuits and digital signal processing. He has been on a leave of absence from UCLA since 1995 in order to be at Broadcom full time. Since 2003 Dr. Samueli has also been a Distinguished Adjunct Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at UC Irvine. He was the Chief Scientist and one of the founders of PairGain Technologies, Inc., a telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the digital subscriber line (DSL) industry, and he consulted for PairGain from 1988 to 1994. From 1980 until 1985 he was employed in various engineering and management positions in the Electronics and Technology Division of TRW, Inc., where he worked on the hardware development of military broadband communications systems.
Dr. Samueli received a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA in 1975, 1976, and 1980, respectively. He has published over 100 technical papers and is a named inventor in 75 U.S. patents. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2000, a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2003, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004.
In 2000 Dr. Samueli was awarded the University of California Presidential Medal, the UC Irvine Medal, the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Industrial Pioneer Award, and the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science Alumnus of the Year. In 2005 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and the Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year from UCLA. In 2006 he received the IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Industry Leaders Award. In 2010 he received the UCLA Medal. In 2011 he received the Global Semiconductor Alliance Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award, and in 2012 he was awarded the Marconi Society Prize and Fellowship.
Maria Wronski is the Chief Financial Officer of Broadcom Foundation, responsible for managing the foundation’s financial and audit matters and the cash and investments portfolio as well as other business matters. Ms. Wronski is also Associate Director, Broadcom MASTERS® Outreach, managing public outreach campaigns for both the Broadcom MASTERS U.S. and international programs.
Previously, Maria was the treasurer of Broadcom Foundation, responsible for managing the foundation’s cash and investments portfolio as well as other financial and business matters. She is also the prior Vice President, Enterprise Risk Management of Broadcom Corporation where she was responsible for global risk management and business continuity for the company. In addition, Ms. Wronski is also the former Vice President, Treasurer of Broadcom Corporation and for 10+ years was responsible for the Company’s global cash operations and investments, capital structure and debt financing, credit and collections, risk management and employee equity programs. She joined Broadcom in September 2003 after heading up financial operations at Netigy Corporation and spending several years at Western Digital in various management rolls including Assistant Treasurer. She received an undergraduate degree in Finance from California State University, Long Beach and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Paula Golden is President of the Broadcom Foundation, which advances science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) worldwide. Paula initiates innovative programs at universities, non-profits and non-government organizations (NGOs) that create equitable access to STEM education, close the STEM education gap for young women and the underserved, and ensure that all young people are STEM literate with the necessary skills to succeed in 21st century STEM careers.
Paula spearheads the foundation’s signature programs that include the Broadcom MASTERS® and Broadcom MASTERS® International, world-renowned middle school science and engineering competitions that inspire middle school students to continue their studies in math and science as they enter high school, enabling them to become the scientists, engineers, and innovators of the future.
She also drives Broadcom Presents: Design_CODE_Build in partnership with Silicon Valley’s Computer History Museum to promote algebra as a prerequisite to computer coding. The middle school program targets untapped talent among young women and the underserved.
Paula is a leader in the National STEM Funders Network and STEM Education Ecosystem Initiative that creates collaborations among formal and informal STEM educators throughout the United States.
Paula earned her B.A. in English and Education from Wellesley College and her J.D., cum laude from New England School of Law where she later served as Assistant Dean and Instructor of Law. An Emmy finalist and TEDx presenter, Paula’s achievements were recently honored by the University of California, Irvine (UCI) where she received UCI’s Ingenuity Award for her contributions to promoting inclusion, equality and access to STEM education.
Carl McKinzie is a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for the Broadcom Foundation where he advises the board on financial and corporate matters including governance. He has served on boards and special committees for public, private and nonprofit companies and has advised numerous clients on matters of corporate governance throughout his career.
Previously, Carl was recruited as CEO of FirstFed Financial Corp., a bank holding company in bankruptcy. Following the successful reorganization of FirstFed Financial Corp., Carl became the Interim President and CEO of Trethera Corporation (formerly Triangle Therapeutics Inc.).
In 1980, Carl joined and became a named partner in the business law firm Riordan & McKinzie. He previously had been a partner with Nossaman LLP. In 2003, Riordan & McKinzie merged with Bingham McCutchen LLP, an international law firm. At Bingham McCutchen, he continued to advise clients on mergers and acquisitions and securities transactions, and counseled on the implementation of complex financing transactions.
Carl earned a B.A. and MBA in banking and finance from Texas Tech University and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University (SMU) Dedman School of Law. He received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the SMU School of Law and was an editor of Southwestern Law Journal. Carl has chaired and spoken at various legal and accounting conferences around the world.