President of NAE Is Changing the Conversation on Engineering

From left: College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Dean Andrew Singer; Tsu-Jae King Liu, President of the National Academy of Engineering; and Pamela Abshire, chair of Stony Brook's Department Electrical and Computer Engineering. Photo by Jennifer Becker.

Professor Tsu-Jae King Liu, President of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), reminded her audience on April 24 that behind NASA's Artemis II achievement were engineering accomplishments such as heavy-lift launch capability, life support systems, improved thermal protection and advanced communication.

Her inspiring distinguished lecture, "Engineering Leadership in a World of Accelerating Change," stressed the impact that engineers have upon our world and the importance of engineering education. Hosted by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, she delivered this to a full conference room in the New Computer Science building.

Liu wants to change the conversation on engineering.

"There are 400,000 engineering jobs that must be filled annually," said Liu. "Not only aerospace but other areas of engineering should be working to help fill that talent gap."

"Why are there not enough engineering graduates?" she asked. "Our message should be simple and easy for people to relate to. We need to make engineering more appealing. We should emphasize that engineers make a positive difference in the world. Teach the students the biographies of engineers - show them engineers that look like them. There are people behind the technology."

Liu said that one out of eight members of the NAE is an international member, and that it is important to have a global perspective. She shared a photo of the earth taken from the Orion spacecraft on April 2, 2026, alongside the quote from Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, "No matter where you are from or what you look like, we're all one people."

Representatives from the Graduate Student Organization express their gratitude to Professor Liu. Photo by Pamela Abshire.

A distinguished engineer and academic leader, Liu earned her BS, MS, and PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Liu, who is renowned for her contributions in microelectronics and has authored 550 publications and holds nearly 100 U.S. patents, served as Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, before stepping into her role at the NAE. The NAE provides engineering leadership to the nation and is a private, independent nonprofit institution chartered by Congress and part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Drawing on her deep expertise in semiconductor technology, Liu traced the evolution of computing power through successive generations of transistor innovation: from mainframe to minicomputer to workstation to desktop to laptop to smartphone. "Every 10x increase in a chip transistor enabled a new class of computers," she said. As the cost per function improved the number of devices, they became more affordable resulting in a proliferation of data. "There are tens of billions of digital devices," she said. "More than people."

Liu described the "law of accelerating returns," showing how engineering innovation builds upon itself. Each new technological breakthrough creates the foundation for the next, including the rise of artificial intelligence. In addition to AI, she noted: semiconductors, quantum information science and technology, biotechnology, synthetic biology, advanced materials, sustainable energy technologies and space technologies.

Electrical and Computer Engineering students speak with Professor Liu. Photo by Pamela Abshire.

"Leadership across a broad set of advanced technologies is key to long-term economic prosperity and economic security," she said. And rather than viewing AI as a replacement for engineers, she described it as a powerful tool. It can help reduce routine tasks, support learning, expand access, and allow engineers to focus on creativity, judgment, and solving complex societal challenges. Engineers must be prepared to critically evaluate AI-generated content and understand the ethical, legal, and social implications of the technologies they create.

About integrating AI in engineering education, Dean Andrew Singer said, "We're already weaving AI into every one of our nine departments - not as a separate subject, but as part of how engineers work and think. When AI amplifies what we're capable of and expedites the innovation cycle, students are free to focus on what matters most: the creative, the ethical, the human. If we want to close the talent gap, we need graduates who don't just understand AI, but who can shape it and question it - engineers who are as comfortable with the ethical dimensions as with the technical ones. That's a far more compelling story, and exactly the kind of engineer the world needs more of."

It all goes back to changing the conversation around engineering. Liu wants engineers to be portrayed as creatives who help people. "It's also fun," she said. That's how she wants future generations to learn about engineering, to help fill the talent gap.

At the end of her presentation, Abrar Abdurrob and Anand Ravishanker, who are senators from the Graduate Student Organization, as well as Disha Goshal, who is an alternate senator, expressed their gratitude to Liu with a 3-D printed award created by Jenny Chang, an instructional support specialist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Pamela Abshire, chair of the Department Electrical and Computer Engineering, joined Liu for a fireside chat. Then the attendees had the opportunity to mingle at a reception.

"The more engineers we make, the better and safer our world will become," said Abshire.

- Debra Scala Giokas