Tsu-Jae Liu, Ph.D., is dean emerita of the College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. She joined the research staff at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in 1992 to develop thin-film transistor technologies for high-performance, flat-panel display and imaging applications. In 1996, she joined the faculty of the department of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley.

Her excellence in teaching and mentorship was recognized with the department’s EE Division Outstanding Teaching Award in 2003, the UC Berkeley Distinguished Faculty Mentoring Award in 2010, the Semiconductor Research Corporation Aristotle Award in 2016, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, Electron Devices Society Education Award in 2021.

Dr. Liu is well-known for her high standards and dedication to diversity both as a mentor and educator, and for leveraging her own network to support students’ innovative research when needed. Her “always on” availability to mentees has had a lasting impact on dozens of careers and sparked relationships that endure long beyond graduation. 

Throughout her career, Dr. Liu has conducted research on advanced materials, fabrication processes, and devices for integrated circuits used in computing and memory applications. She has authored or co-authored more than 550 publications and holds approximately 100 patents. She has received many prestigious honors, including the DARPA Significant Technical Achievement Award in 2000 for co-developing the FinFET, the transistor design used in all leading-edge computer microchips today; the Intel Outstanding Researcher in Nanotechnology Award in 2012; and the Semiconductor Industry Association University Researcher Award in 2014.

Dr. Liu held various leadership roles in industry and at UC Berkeley prior to becoming dean. Honors recognizing her leadership include the Chang-Lin Tien Leadership in Education Award in 2020 and the IEEE Founder’s Medal in 2024. Dr. Liu is a fellow of the IEEE and the National Academy of Inventors, and an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, or NAE. As of July 2025, she is the president of the NAE.

In recent years, Dr. Liu has advocated for establishing a collaborative national network for microelectronics education. She testified in a congressional hearing and served as the lead writer for the American Semiconductor Academy-SEMI Vision Paper, which led to the inclusion of the CHIPS for America Workforce and Education Fund in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

Dr. Liu earned a B.S., an M.S., and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. She is married to David Kuan-Yu Liu, Ph.D., who inspired her to pursue engineering and graduate studies. They have two adult sons, an engineer and a veterinarian, who share their love for animals and outdoor activities in California’s temperate climate.