Tom Chou

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The 1st Professor Hired Directly From Overseas

Tom Chou, a professor emeritus of Cal Poly, interviewed for a position at Cal Poly in 1961 from Taiwan through a Pacific radio-phone interview. The interview must have gone well as he was hired and became the record holder as the 1st professor hired from outside of the U.S. Tom’s professorship started from the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, China, then to Cal Poly, to UC-Berkeley and then to Stanford University as a research fellow. Tom also provided engineering consulting services to the Lockheed Missile and Space Company, NASA Research Center, and North American Rockwell Corp, just to name a few. Tom’s expertise is in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He has authored more than a dozen technical reports and technical articles. The book Tom co-authored, “High Frequency Amplifier Design”, is now a senior graduate textbook. Other highlights of Tom’s career include developing a VHF and Up Electronic Jamming Machine in 1960. Tom was a cutting edge computer science professor long before the IT boom and his dedication and wide range of knowledge are highly regarded. If you ask Tom about his academic and life achievements, he attributes them to persistence, hard work, and solid time management skills. Tom is a strong believer in the value of a firm educational foundation.

To Tom, learning is a life long experience. Even after he finished his advanced degree, Tom continued to educate himself though his affiliation with UC-Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Chinese Institute of Engineers in USA, and Eta Kappa Nu.

As an active member in our community, Tom served as the President of CCCA in the early 90’s and continues his support today. Tom is a believer in giving back and helping the others. He donates generously to the institutions of higher learning and organizations that benefit the youth.

Tom lives in San Luis Obispo with his wife, Lucia, a retiree from SLO County government. The Chou’s have three children (a physician, and two JDs) and five grandchildren, all of whom live in California.

In his spare time, Tom enjoys history, travel (which has taken him to all over the 50 states and 5 continents), folk music, and family and friends.