Mark Asta was named the new dean of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering on Jan. 21and will serve as interim dean until his appointment takes effect in July.<\/p>\n
Asta, who will become the 14th dean of UC Berkeley\u2019s second largest college,was selected following a search led by a committee formed in 2025. Finalists were screened by Chancellor Rich Lyons, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Benjamin Hermalin as well as Vice Provost for the Faculty Victoria Plaut before the final choice was solidified.<\/p>\n
Asta said he believes he was chosen due to his long history at UC Berkeley and his \u201cunique insights\u201d into Berkeley Engineering\u2019s \u201cimpact on society and the public good.\u201d Asta also believes that the committee resonated with his vision for the college\u2019s future, which he said will be shaped by the opportunities and challenges that \u201ctransformative technologies such as AI are bringing to society.\u201d<\/p>\n
He earned his undergraduate, masters and doctorate degrees at UC Berkeley, earning the title of a \u201cTriple Bear.\u201d Asta was previously appointed as executive associate dean of Berkeley Engineering where he managed strategy development and academic programs. He was also a campus professor of engineering and materials science after teaching at Northwestern University and UC Davis.<\/p>\n
Asta served as the division director at the Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and also holds the title of Arthur C. and Phyllis G. Oppenheimer Distinguished Professor in Advanced Materials Analysis.He additionally manages his own campus research group for computational materials science.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Andrea Hwang, one of the previous members of his research group and UC Berkeley alumna, described Asta as a \u201csupportive\u201d professor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s someone who looks out for his students \u2026 I think it\u2019s a really great honor that he\u2019s been appointed dean. I feel like he\u2019s going to do a lot of great things,\u201d Hwang said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Asta said he sees opportunities for Berkeley Engineering to advance transformative technologies in areas such as AI, quantum computing and nuclear energy, while also addressing \u201cthe most pressing societal challenges\u201d around human health, sustainability and resiliency against natural disasters.<\/p>\n