Al Yuen headshot

Dr. Al Yuen
Ph.D. ‘87 in Electrical & Computer Engineering

In this Alumni Spotlight Q&A, Al Yuen shares his journey from UCSB graduate student to a leader in technology startups. He reflects on the mentors, challenges and pivotal decisions that shaped his path and offers insights on the importance of collaboration and lifelong learning. Al Yuen’s story highlights how his UCSB experience laid the foundation for a career defined by both technical breakthroughs and a dedication to guiding the next generation of engineers.

You no doubt considered a number of doctoral programs for Electrical & Computer Engineering. What drew you to UC Santa Barbara for your graduate studies?

Actually, my father, who was a professor at SJSU at the time, said that UCSB was starting to work on Compound Semiconductor research. This was a different area of technology than Silicon, which was what everyone was doing in Silicon Valley where I lived. He recommended that I attend UCSB. By the way, I only applied to graduate school in the first place, because I wanted to work in the cleanroom making stuff vs. sitting at my desk designing stuff. The hiring manager said that I need a graduate degree to do that, so I applied for the UCSB Masters program, intending to only stay one year. After experiencing UCSB, the people, place, professors, research, I decided to stay for my PhD. 

What class or professor do you reflect on most fondly during your graduate years? 
I had multiple PhD advisors, but the one that made the biggest impression on me was Dr. Evelyn Hu. She encouraged my curiosity into how semiconductor devices were made and how they worked. We were free to discover new processing methods and new device structures at UCSB and which began a lifetime of technology development for me. The other professor was, Dr. Herbert Kroemer. He demanded so much from his students and taught us the fundamentals of device physics, the science of how semiconductor devices worked. He was a tough professor, but I learned so much from him and it has made a huge difference in my research career.

After graduating from UCSB, you pursued the startup world. What lessons did you take from that experience?

I didn’t enter the startup world at first. I spent the first 12 years of my career at Hewlett Packard, which taught me how to take what I learned from UCSB and apply it to real-world products. The process of developing new technologies and products for production was fascinating to me and I learned so much at HP and HP Labs. When I left HP Labs in 1999, I started my first startup, Alvesta, with a former UCSB classmate and professor, Dr. John Bowers. I was so green at starting a company, so I had to learn everything, especially what not to do after making many mistakes.

Alongside spending time in startups, you worked for an established tech company, HP. How did you find the corporate culture compared to the startups?

As I mentioned above, I started at HP, a very large Fortune 500 company. HP was known for their special work culture known as the HP Way. I learned so much from the philosophy of trusting in your people/employees and empowering them to do what’s best for the company. Not many companies trust in their people as HP did many years ago. I was able to thrive and grow in the innovative environment at HP. Our group created new products, new technologies and new ways of building photonic devices. Much of what was developed paved the way for optical communication which enabled the Internet.
What do you think is the most important skill you’ve learned throughout your professional career?
So many lessons, but I would summarize all of the lessons into one, “make everyone around you better.” This is true in R&D, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, HR...whatever department or endeavor. So much of our career we feel that we are competing with our coworkers for recognition or promotion, this is somewhat true.  However, if you spend your energy working to make everyone around you better, you’re doing a good job, whether you are an individual contributor, a manager or the CEO of the company.
 
How do you unplug from work? What are your favorite ways to destress?

This is the easiest question to answer. I take long walks with my dog, Oski. Walking my dog gives me time to think, be silent, enjoy the outdoors and spend time with Oski.  Some of my best startup ideas have come while walking Oski. 

You founded and serve as a board advisor for StartUC. What motivated you to create the club and why do you think it’s important for alumni to give back to UCSB? 
Funny that you ask about StartUC. I was trying to create an opportunity for students to experience the startup culture without having any risks or financial commitments. It turns out that it was really difficult to find the right students who shared this vision. I have continued to work with student groups such as Women in Business (WIB), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Data Science Club, College of Engineering and other student groups. Since I have four sons of my own in various stages of college and career, I know how tough it is in the current environment to find the right job or to even have a job. The requirements have changed a lot and employers are looking for “experienced” students with internships and research under their belts even before their first job out of college. This is just not possible for every student, so I feel that our goal on the UCSB Alumni Board is to create opportunities for all students, of any major, to gain hands-on experience that is valuable to potential employers.

In what ways do you stay connected to UCSB as an alum?

The best way that I have been able to stay connected with UCSB has been through the Family Vacation Center, FVC. My wife and I, and our four sons, have been attending since 2007. We’ve all made lifelong friends and UCSB has a special place in our hearts.  The other way has been professionally as many of our PhD classmates at UCSB have gone on to work in the same industry as me. We connect regularly at conferences, trade shows and even worked together at the same companies.


What advice would you give to students who wish to carve out a niche in the tech industry today?

I always start with an example. Hammers and Houses! One is a tool, the other is a demonstration of how you used that tool. Don’t show me your fancy hammer, show me the house you built. Don’t focus so much time on gathering more tools (e.g. more classes, certificates...), but focus on improving your skills of using the tools you have.  Constantly be on the lookout for problems to solve and go solve them. Whenever I am hiring someone, I am looking for someone to solve the problems I have at my company. Employers hire problem solvers! You don’t need someone to give you an internship or a job to go solve problems. There are problems everywhere, look for them and try to solve them. Your failures will teach you a lot.


You’ve accomplished a lot throughout your professional journey. What has been a career-defining moment in your lifetime?

As I reflect back at my career, there were great moments of accomplishments, but I would say a career-defining moment is when I can help young-people find the joy of discovery and purpose.  The moment after a talk on tech or career, when you see the students nodding their heads and wanting to go out, excited to start their own career journey.