Dean’s Corporate Advisory Board Member
Leslie A. Momoda ’85, MS ’87, PhD ’90
Executive Vice President
HRL Laboratories
Leslie Momoda is the Executive Vice President of HRL Laboratories in Malibu, California. In this role, she is in charge of shaping the company’s strategy and leadership, including identifying new research directions, fostering collaborations and partnerships, as well as supporting operations and staff.
Prior to that, she was Vice President for Strategy, leading the strategic planning and customer interfaces. Previously, she was the director for Sensors and Materials Laboratory where she led the research and development and characterization of advanced nano-materials as well as cutting-edge microelectromechanical and infrared detectors.
Momoda joined HRL Laboratories in 1990, working on the research and development of mixed metal oxide materials for electronic, optical and chemical sensor applications. She has extensive experience in the field of materials synthesis, processing and characterization for electronic and structural applications.
As a Research Department Manager at HRL, she was in charge of several major projects in the area of smart materials, materials for thermal management, gas sensing, fuel cell components and the modeling and prediction of materials reliability.
Momoda received her B.S. degree in chemical engineering and M.S. and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from UCLA.
In 2025, Momoda was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional honors granted to American engineers. She has authored or co-authored 18 published papers and has 16 issued patents. In addition to the Dean’s Corporate Advisory Board at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering where she has served as chair since December 2024, she is also involved with engineering advisory boards at several other Southern California universities.