Tsu-Jae King Liu (, born June 4, 1963) is an American academic and

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

who serves as the dean of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering, where she is also the Roy W. Carlson Professor of Engineering. At the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, Liu leads a research team that explores the development of novel semiconductor devices, non-volatile memory devices, and M/NEMS technology for ultra-low power circuits. Her team is a part of the Berkeley Emerging Technologies Research Center and the NSF Center for Energy Efficient Electronics in Science. She is also a faculty member of the Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute at Berkeley and an affiliate faculty member of Berkeley's Applied Science & Technology Graduate Program and the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Graduate Group.

Early life and education

Liu was born in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

, to

Taiwanese American Taiwanese Americans (traditional Chinese, Chinese: 臺灣裔美國人; pinyin: ''Táiwān yì měiguó rén''; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ''Tâi-Bí-jîn'') are Americans of Taiwanese people, Taiwanese ancestry, including American-born descendants of migrant ...

parents who were graduate students at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Her father's research was in the area of

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

prediction and, as such, she spent the majority of her childhood in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. As a high-school student, Liu was given a tour of the PARC campus, where her interest in computing was stimulated by a demonstration of the Xerox Alto. She earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(B.S.), a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(M.S.), and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1984, 1986, and 1994, respectively.

Career

After graduating from Stanford, Liu joined the research staff at the

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Her time at PARC from 1992 to 1996 was distinguished by her work on polycrystalline thin-film

transistors A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

. In August 1996, Liu joined Berkeley as a faculty member of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. Liu has contributed to many developments in the field of semiconductor devices and technology and has co-authored over 500 papers. Liu's leading contributions span many research areas but she is perhaps best known for the development of polycrystalline silicon-germanium thin film technology for applications in integrated circuits and microsystems. Liu is also the co-inventor of the three-dimensional FinFET

transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

(fin field-effect transistor) which is the design that is used in all leading microprocessor chips today. Liu was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2017 "for contributions to the fin field effect transistor (FinFET) and its application to nanometer complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology". She holds over 94 patents in the area of semiconductor devices and fabrication methods, with 80 patents pending as of 2017, 37 of which had been assigned to a company she founded, Progressant Technologies, acquired by

Synopsys Synopsys, Inc. is an American electronic design automation (EDA) company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality. Synopsys sup ...

in 2004. In her role as dean of Berkeley's College of Engineering, Liu has been outspoken about her commitment to increase diversity and foster inclusion and respect for women and members of underrepresented minorities in engineering. Prior to assuming her role as dean, Liu had served in extensive leadership roles at Berkeley. She was the faculty director of the Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory. From 2008 to 2012, she was associate dean for research in the College of Engineering. She served as chair of the Electrical Engineering Division from 2012 to 2014 and as chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department from 2014 to 2016. She was previously senior director of engineering in the Advanced Technology Group of

. From 2016 to 2025, Liu served as a member of the board of directors of

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

. In 2024 she received the IEEE Founders Medal. In September 2024, she was nominated to be next

President. Her election was formally announced in May of 2025 with her term as President starting on July 1, 2025.

Research and select publications

A full list of Liu's publications are available online. This is a list are of her most cited works: * * * * * * * *

Awards

Liu has received numerous accolades for her research contributions: *Elected Member, National Academy of Inventors (2018) *Elected Member,

(2017) *Fellow,

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...

Significant Technical Achievement Award, for her work on FinFET (2000) *

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE ...

Kiyo Tomiyasu Award, for her contributions to nanoscale MOS transistors (2010) *Outstanding Research Award, Semiconductor Industry Association (2014) *Inductee, Silicon Valley Hall of Fame *Outstanding Researcher in Nanotechnology Award,

(2012) * SIA University Researcher Award (2012) *

Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

's Game Changer West Award (2021) She has also been recognized for her contributions to teaching and mentorship as a faculty member: *Outstanding Teaching Award, Electrical Engineering *Distinguished Faculty Mentoring Award, UC Berkeley *Aristotle Award, Semiconductor Research Corporation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Tsu-Jae King Living people Engineers from New York City Stanford University alumni UC Berkeley College of Engineering faculty American electrical engineers American women engineers 1956 births 21st-century American women American people of Taiwanese descent