Dear Campus Leaders and the College of Engineering Community,
We are pleased to announce that Mark Asta has agreed to serve as interim dean of the College of Engineering for the 2025–26 academic year. His appointment will be effective on July 1, 2025.
Professor Asta is the Arthur C. and Phyllis G. Oppenheimer Professor in Advanced Materials Analysis in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE). He also holds a faculty senior scientist appointment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). A UC Berkeley alum, Asta received his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics, his master’s degree in physics, and his Ph.D. degree in an interdisciplinary degree program combining physics and materials science and engineering. In 2010, he joined the MSE faculty at UC Berkeley after holding professor appointments at Northwestern University and UC Davis. He also worked at Sandia National Laboratories.
Professor Asta is a computational materials scientist whose research involves modeling materials at the atomic level. His research helps advance understanding, discovering, and designing materials that can withstand extreme conditions and be used for energy and structural applications.
Professor Asta has held numerous leadership positions, serving as the MSE department chair from 2012–2017 and the director of the Materials Science Division at LBNL from 2018–2022. At LBNL, 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, he became the executive associate dean at the College of Engineering, where he has helped lead a number of key initiatives, including the development of the college’s strategic plan for the Berkeley Space Center and the Resilient and Sustainable Engineering Initiative. He has also co-led efforts to support experiential learning opportunities by creating new workspaces at the Richmond Field Station in support of registered student organizations, and co-led the process of ABET accreditation of undergraduate engineering programs.
Please join us in congratulating Professor Asta on this new role. To learn more about him, please visit the Berkeley Engineering news site
Tsu-Jae King Liu will continue as engineering dean through the end of the academic year. She announced her plans to step down as dean after being named the sole candidate for president of the National Academy of Engineering. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude for her outstanding leadership of the College of Engineering, as well as the many other contributions she has made to UC Berkeley and beyond.
Sincerely,
Richard K. Lyons
Chancellor
Benjamin E. Hermalin
Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost