Meet Dean Liu

Tsu-Jae King Liu, Dean and Roy W. Carlson Professor of Engineering

Dean Tsu-Jae King Liu is internationally recognized in academia and industry for her innovations in semiconductor devices and technology, and is highly regarded for her achievements as an instructor, mentor and administrator.

Liu was born in Ithaca, New York, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She earned her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering at Stanford University in 1984, 1986 and 1994, respectively. She was a scientist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) before joining the UC Berkeley faculty in 1996 in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS).

In addition to excelling in research, garnering honors and patents in the fields of integrated-circuit devices and technologies, Liu has demonstrated a strong commitment to enhancing the educational experience of students. Her dedication earned Liu the EE Division Outstanding Teaching Award, UC Berkeley Distinguished Faculty Mentoring Award and the Semiconductor Research Corporation Aristotle Award.

Dean Liu greets Berkeley Engineering students on Cal Day. (Photo by Adam Lau/Berkeley Engineering)

Liu held numerous leadership roles on campus prior to becoming the College of Engineering’s 13th dean. From 2016 to 2018, she was UC Berkeley’s vice provost for academic and space planning, overseeing the campus’ academic program review process, space planning, and international partnerships. In the College of Engineering, she also served as associate dean for research from 2008 to 2012, and associate dean for academic planning and development in 2016 before taking the vice provost position on campus. In the EECS department, Liu served as department chair from 2014 to 2016, EE division chair from 2012 to 2016, and vice chair for graduate matters from 2003 to 2004.

Liu is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and a board member for Intel Corp. Among her awards are the Ross M. Tucker AIME Electronics Materials Award for seminal work in polycrystalline silicon-germanium thin films, an NSF CAREER Award for research in thin-film transistor technology, the Intel Outstanding Researcher in Nanotechnology Award, the IEEE Aldert van der Ziel Award for distinguished educational and research contributions to the field of electronic devices and materials, and the DARPA Significant Technical Achievement Award for her role in the development of the FinFET, an advanced transistor design used in high-end computer chips.

She began her tenure as dean on July 1, 2018.