Support for All Students

A UCLA educational experience often inspires graduates to give back. As a student, Mukund Padmanabhan, MS ’89, PhD ’92 received financial aid that made his education possible. As an alumnus, he has endowed three fellowships, which have done the same for 18 graduate students in electrical and computer engineering thus far.

A Gift for Undergraduates

And Padmanabhan isn’t done. A new gift of $500,000 to UCLA Samueli School of Engineering — matched with $250,000 from the chancellor’s initiative — will establish the Guru Krupa Foundation Centennial Scholars Undergraduate Scholarship.

“I am very gratified to see the benefits accruing to graduate students and faculty from my earlier gifts and would like to extend my support to the deserving Samueli undergraduates as well,” he says.

Focused Philanthropy

The new undergraduate scholarship represents Padmanabhan’s fifth major gift to the school. In addition to his fellowships, he has contributed $2.5 million to create a research laboratory for integrated microsystems in Engineering VI. All of the donations have been made through his Guru Krupa Foundation, which, among other aims, helps provide higher education opportunities to those who could not otherwise afford it.

For that commitment to students and to honor his successful research career, UCLA Samueli is recognizing Padmanabhan with its Professional Achievement Award this March. Even while working on the East Coast, he remains deeply engaged with the school.

From Promise to Progress

“We’re very grateful for the continued generous support of Mukund Padmanabhan and the Guru Krupa Foundation,” says Jayathi Murthy, Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of UCLA Samueli. “This new scholarship will help promising engineering students fulfill their educational objectives and make a positive difference in society.”

Padmanabhan appreciates what students and UCLA are achieving. “This is a place where bright and promising students, no matter their background or family situation, can make a big move up the economic ladder,” he says. “And it’s for this reason that I’m very proud to continue to support the school through this new scholarship fund.”

Published March 2019