West Virginia University and its Forensic and Investigative Science Program will benefit from gifts and in-kind donations totaling more than $5.5 million from California businessman and philanthropist Ming Hsieh (pronounced SHAY ) and Cogent Inc.

Hsieh is the chief executive officer, president and chairman of Cogent, a global biometric identification company that provides solutions to governments, law enforcement agencies and commercial enterprises.

This is a truly generous gift and one that will have a positive impact on the lives of West Virginia University students,said WVU President Mike Garrison.I speak for the entire University in expressing our gratitude and our appreciation of the example Ming Hsieh has set in his life as a scientist, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

The contributions will support several projects at WVU , including helping fund construction and outfitting of a new classroom building on the WVU Downtown Campus. The building, dedicated today (Nov. 14), will be named Ming Hsieh Hall in honor of Hsiehs generous philanthropy. The Hsieh Family Foundation, of which Hsieh is founder and president, has pledged $2 million toward construction of the new building.

Located behind historic Oglebay Hall, Ming Hsieh Hall consists of four general purpose classrooms which are fitted with the Universitys new standard technology, including retractable rojector screens, DVD and VHS players and an AMX touch-screen panel that controls all the audio-visual effects in each classroom. Large picture windows on the second floor of Ming Hsieh Hall reveal striking views of the Downtown Campus and the surrounding mountains.

In addition to support for construction of Ming Hsieh Hall, The Hsieh Family Foundation has also pledged $1 million to establish two endowed funds in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. Endowed funds will create The Ming Hsieh Distinguished Professor of Forensic and Investigative Science and The Ming Hsieh Distinguished Teaching Professor of Forensic and Investigative Science.

We are a grateful college,said Dean Mary Ellen Mazey.The Eberly College and its FIS students have been dramatically affected by Mr. Hsiehs generosity to WVU and his concern for future teaching and research in this growing field so important to our country.

Establishing these professorships was especially important to Hsieh since he has an interest in training, mentoring and nurturing the next generation of forensic scientists. The Forensic and Investigative Science Program at WVU is one of only 10 accredited undergraduate programs in the United States and is generally regarded as the nations top academic program in the field.

Cogent is providing the forensic program with new state-of-the-art forensic technology for use by faculty and students.

We are very pleased to make this gift to the Forensic and Investigative Science Program at West Virginia University,Hsieh said.The gift will give students and faculty access to state-of-the art equipment used by many federal and civil agencies around the world. WVU is a respected partner of many federal agencies that utilize forensic biometric technology, and we are excited to assist them as they continue the important work of education and development in the area of forensic science.

Cogents gift includes four fingerprint livescans and a fully functional Automated Fingerprint/Palm Print Identification System (AFIS) with the latest generation of Cogents Programmable Matching Accelerator (PMA) server. The server is an industry-leading, high-speed fingerprint image matcher that is based on commercial off-the-shelf equipment. It is being used successfully by law enforcement and civilian agencies around the world.

In addition, Cogent will give the program 25 AFIS workstations that provide the ability to do latent and 10 print editing and searches. The value of this in-kind gift is estimated at approximately $2.5 million.

Students at WVU will be working daily with the most sophisticated crime-solving technology available in the field,said Keith Morris, forensic program director.The contribution by Cogent will provide our students with world-class resources in their courses and in hands-on research activitiesa great benefit to their education and career preparation.

Hsieh was born in China. In 1976, he passed university entrance examinations and enrolled in the electrical engineering department of the South China University of Technology. In 1980, he transferred to the University of Southern California where he earned bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering.

While a student at USC , he became an American citizen. Because of his educational experiences, Hsieh has been committed to student success in this country.

In 1990, he founded Cogent. As a result of its success, Hsieh has generously shared his resources with institutions of higher education, stating that since he was able toreach the American dream,he wants to help others to do so as well. His donations have included $35 million to his alma mater, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

The funds will be administered by the WVU Foundation, a private, nonprofit corporation which generates, receives and administers private gifts from individuals and organizations for the benefit of WVU .

Additional Information
p. * BIOGRAPHY *

Since founding Cogent in 1990, Ming Hsieh has served as chief executive officer and chairman. In 1990, Hsieh bootstrapped the company with $120,000. Throughout its history, Cogent has never incurred debt or accepted outside funding. The company has been profitable from inception. Since going public, Cogent has become a dominant enterprise in providing biometric systems to various organizations worldwide. Cogent is a leading provider of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) and other fingerprint biometric solutions to governments, law enforcement agencies and other organizations worldwide. Customers include the Department of Homeland Security, FBI , state of Ohio and Los Angeles Sheriffs Department. In 2005, Cogent was ranked No. 1 by BusinessWeek in its 100 Best Small Companies special issue. In 2005, Hsieh was a national finalist for the Computerworld Honors Program in the business and related services field. In 2006, he was the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in greater Los Angeles in technology and services. Hsieh graduated from the University of Southern California with bachelors (1983) and masters (1984) degrees in electrical engineering. He currently serves on the USC Board of Trustees. While a student at USC , he became an American citizen. Because of his educational experiences, Hsieh has been committed to student success in this country by helping others also reach the American dream. He gives back to the community to foster higher learning and education. He has made generous donations and supports various organizations, including USC , West Virginia University, the Huntington Library Foundation, RAND Corp., the Westridge School in Pasadena and various local high schools.

* THE GIFTS *

Hsiehs philanthropy toward WVU has established two distinguished professorships in teaching and research for the Forensic and Investigative Science Program within the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. Hsieh has also made possible a gift of technology from Cogent Inc. to develop an AFIS teaching and research facility in Oglebay Hall. He has had a longstanding interest in training, mentoring and nurturing the next generation of forensic scientists, which is one of the reasons for his generosity. The Forensic and Investigative Science Program at WVU is one of only 10 accredited undergraduate programs in the United States and is generally regarded as the nations top academic program in the field. His financial gifts have helped in the construction of Ming Hsieh Hall. Gifts and in-kind donations from Hsieh total more than $5.5 million.

* THE HALL *

Ming Hsieh Hall opened for WVU students during the fall 2007 semester. The decision to build a new classroom building reflected an expanding undergraduate enrollment at the University. The building contains two large lecture halls and two general purpose classrooms. Built at a cost of over $5 million, it is estimated that 800 students are accommodated each typical class hour throughout the day. Each classroom is equipped with an AMX panel featuring touch-screen control for all audio-visual effects. The building has an enclosed connection to Oglebay Hall, the home of the Eberly Colleges Forensic and Investigative Science Program. Special features also include a parking deck and a bridge across University Avenue from the plaza adjacent to Oglebay Hall, Ming Hsieh Hall and the Business and Economics Building.