Professor Liesl Folks
Areas of responsibility
The Executive Dean is responsible for shaping the Faculty's strategic direction, academic programs and research initiatives while ensuring the success and wellbeing of both students and staff.
Biography
Professor Liesl Folks reports to the Provost and oversees academic and administrative matters across the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology. She is accountable for academic programs, staff management and resource allocation. She also represents the Faculty and the University to the wider community, both in Australia and overseas.
Liesl is a globally respected scholar and higher education leader, known for her deep disciplinary expertise in physics and engineering, and her commitment to advancing research, education, and equity. She holds a BSc (Hons) and a PhD in Physics from The University of Western Australia, and an MBA from Cornell University.
Before joining UQ, Liesl held senior leadership roles in the United States, including serving as Provost at the University of Arizona (UA), where she led initiatives to improve student outcomes - particularly for Indigenous and rural communities - and also as UA’s Vice President for Semiconductor Strategy, guiding the university’s response to national industry needs through strategic partnerships. She also served as Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo (UB), delivering significant growth in student success and research activity. Prior to joining UB, Liesl spent 16 years in Silicon Valley working in nanotechnology R&D for the data storage industry, including roles at IBM Almaden Research Center, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, and Western Digital.
Her research interests span semiconductor supply chain resilience, spintronic phenomena, STEM pedagogy, and diversity and inclusion in STEM disciplines. She holds 12 U.S. patents and has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications. She has been a strong contributor to US national science and technology policy, having chaired National Academies panels on semiconductor access for the U.S. Department of Defence and on the National Nanotechnology Initiative. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Contact
Email: exec.dean@eait.uq.edu.au