Mark Asta to serve as interim dean of Berkeley Engineering
Berkeley Engineering’s executive associate dean, Mark Asta, has been named the interim dean of the college for the 2025–26 academic year.
The appointment, announced today by Chancellor Rich Lyons and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Ben Hermalin, is effective July 1, 2025. It will be the latest leadership role held by Asta, a UC Berkeley professor of materials science and engineering, faculty senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Arthur C. and Phyllis G. Oppenheimer Chair in Advanced Materials Analysis. As executive associate dean, Asta also holds the Shankar Sastry Chair for Leadership and Innovation.
In 2012, Asta became chair of UC Berkeley’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He stepped down from that position to become director of the Materials Science Division at Berkeley Lab in 2018. There, he oversaw the expansion of the portfolio of materials research programs funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences, spanning programs in data-driven materials discovery and materials for microelectronics, quantum information and renewable energy.
In 2023, Asta stepped down as materials science division director to become executive associate dean of Berkeley Engineering.
“I’m delighted that Mark has accepted the offer to become interim dean of the college. He has been an invaluable partner in leading the college, overseeing strategic initiatives that position Berkeley Engineering well for the future,” said Tsu-Jae King Liu, who previously announced that she will be stepping down as engineering dean in June 2025 after being named the sole candidate for president of the National Academy of Engineering.
Among the many initiatives and responsibilities Asta has taken on at the college is co-leading the development and advancement of its strategic plans for the Berkeley Space Center and the Resilient and Sustainable Engineering initiative. He has also co-led efforts to support experiential learning experiences by creating new workspaces at the Richmond Field Station in support of registered student organizations, and he co-led the process of ABET accreditation of undergraduate engineering programs.
In partnership with respective directors, Asta oversees the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, and the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership, helping ensure the success of these academic institutes.
“It will be a great honor to serve the college and campus as interim dean of engineering,” said Asta. “I look forward to supporting Tsu-Jae as she completes her successful and historic tenure as dean and to continuing the excellence in research, education and service to society that makes Berkeley the top public engineering program in the country.”
Asta joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 2010, but his connection to the university dates back to his time as a student here. He earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics in 1988, his master’s degree in physics in 1990, and his Ph.D. in 1993 in an interdisciplinary degree program — a precursor to today’s Applied Science and Technology program — combining physics with materials science and engineering.
Asta’s career has included a staff position at Sandia National Laboratories and faculty positions at Northwestern University and UC Davis. He is widely recognized for his research expertise in leveraging computational techniques to investigate advanced materials, such as structural alloys, functional semiconductors and Generation-IV nuclear reactor materials.
Among Asta’s numerous honors is election as fellow of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) and of the American Physical Society. He earned the William Hume-Rothery Award from TMS and the David Turnbull Lectureship Award from the Materials Research Society.
The search for the new dean of Berkeley Engineering will begin in early spring 2025.